Prince William poses in front of a Sea King helicopter at RAF Valley in Anglesey Wales on June 1, 2012. (CP/AP, SAC Faye Storer, MOD)

LONDON — Prince William clocked in for his first shift as an air ambulance pilot on Monday, nervous but excited about his new job.

The second-in-line to Britain’s throne will face emergencies ranging from traffic accidents to heart attacks in his role working for East Anglian Air Ambulance. William will juggle his royal duties with nine-and-a-half hour shifts in the first few months, as part of a rotation where he will work four days and then have four days off. He’ll work less in the future to accommodate royal tasks.

“I feel doing a job like this really helps me to be grounded and that’s the core of what I’m trying to become,” he said. “I’m trying to be a good guy, to do what I can and trying to be a decent individual.”

William will also juggle both jobs with fatherhood. He took unpaid leave in April after he wrapped up his first phase of training, and has returned following the birth of Princess Charlotte, whom he described as “a little joy from heaven.”

“At the same time, there is a lot of responsibility, especially when George is around — he’s been a little monkey,” he said. “It’s no more difficult than what everyone else has to do.”

William and his crewmates began work right way, responding to a first emergency call at 9:20 a.m. (0820 GMT, 4:20 a.m. EDT). The charity plans to release details of the incident later Monday.

The prince, who will donate his salary to charity, has previously been a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue pilot based on an island off Wales.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/prince-william-starts-work-as-air-ambulance-pilot/feed/0Princess Charlotte’s christening: a mix of old and newhttp://www.macleans.ca/society/princess-charlottes-christening-a-mix-of-old-and-new/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/princess-charlottes-christening-a-mix-of-old-and-new/#commentsSun, 05 Jul 2015 16:26:23 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=735007A country baptism for the newest Windsor

Britain’s duchess of Cambridge carries Princess Charlotte after taking her out of a pram as they arrive for Charlotte’s christening at St. Mary Magdalene Church in Sandringham, England (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, Pool)

The christening of two-month-old Princess Charlotte on Sunday was a mixture of tradition and modernity. It was, above all, a family occasion at the family church, though on a grander scale than most christenings, given the family is the house of Windsor and the parents’ 10-bedroom house is nestled in the Queen’s huge Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Yet only a score of family and friends gathered in the Church of St. Mary Magdalene.

It was the first time such a high-profile member of the family had been christened there since Princess Eugenie in 1990. As well, Prince William’s mother, Diana, was christened there in 1961 (at the time, her family was living in Park House on the estate). And its country setting allowed for a nice break from tradition. Since christenings are always private—usually in royal residences and chapels—there is rarely an opportunity for the public to see the comings and goings. However, at Sandringham’s church, there is the space, and a long tradition of crowds greeting the royal family, most famously, at Christmas.

Luckily, the pelting rain of the morning gave way to bright skies by afternoon, allowing the family to walk to church, William holding George’s hand, while Kate pushed a Millson pram holding Charlotte, which belongs to the Queen, and was used in the 1960s to hold Andrew and Edward. The royals never seem to throw anything out, though it helps to have really, really, big storage facilities.

Kate’s high heels nearly proved her downfall as she struggled to push the pram up a now-muddy hill to the church. (For fashion fans, Kate wore an ivory Alexander McQueen coat with a Jane Taylor hat, the same designers and colour worn for George’s christening two years before.)

Courtesy: The Telegraph

Courtesy: Sky

In addition to William and Kate’s immediate family (Prince Harry was absent, as he’s in Africa for a few months), the only other attendees were Charlotte’s five godparents. As expected, her parents picked friends and relatives to be her church sponsors.

Laura Fellowes: first cousin of William (daughter of Diana’s sister), who has strong links to Sandringham through her father, Lord Fellowes. In addition to being the former private secretary of the Queen, he was the son of the estate’s land agent and has a place in Norfolk. Both William and Kate attended her wedding.

Adam Middleton: first cousin of Kate (son of Michael Middleton’s brother), who works in London and is seen out and about with Charlotte’s parents

Sophie Carter: a friend of Kate’s, who keeps a very low profile

Thomas van Straubenzee: an old school friend of William, whose parents are close friends of Prince Charles. He travelled with William during their gap year, and William and Harry were ushers at his 2013 wedding to the daughter of the duke of Northumberland. He and James Meade delivered a joint “best man’s speech” at William’s wedding reception in 2011.

James Meade: a friend of William from Eton, whose nuptials, a few weeks after those of van Straubenzee, also saw William play the role of usher

In many ways, the low-key, very personal list was similar to that of Prince Harry back in 1984: The six godparents included an artist, as well as a flat mate of Diana’s, princess of Wales. Sure, there were royals, but they were Charles’s brother, Andrew, and his niece, Lady Sarah Chatto. While this time, the godparents weren’t royal, the ceremony included tradition befitting the christening of Queen Elizabeth II’s great-grandchild, and the sister of a future king. Charlotte wore a replica of the elaborate family christening gown used since Victorian times. It was so fragile that a copy was made last decade.

The original Victorian lace and satin gown, worn at Royal christenings since 1841, has now been preserved. pic.twitter.com/kT8WE3PFMY

Two pieces of the priceless Crown jewels were removed from their vaults at the Tower of London, dusted off and packed for the trip to Sandringham. The gilt solid silver baptismal font, called the Lily Font for its iconography of water lilies, has been used for royal christenings since 1840. And the water, from the River Jordan, was poured from an elaborate silver pitcher that dates back to 1735. Also, the officiant was Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury.

Princess Charlotte will be baptised in the Lily Font, commissioned by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert in 1840. pic.twitter.com/BBL9QcMCso — Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) July 5, 2015

Having the christening in Norfolk instead of London, or even Windsor Castle, where the Queen now spends much of her time, is also a nod to the fact that Prince William and Kate have made that area their primary home. They’ve settled into their newly renovated house, Anmer Hall, on the Queen’s estate, and made no secret that they want their children to spend much of their early years in the countryside. Kate is often seen taking George, nearly 2, to local attractions, such as Snettisham Farm.

As the Daily Mail‘s Richard Kay and Geoffrey Levy explained in a recent article: “William’s strategy in moving his family to live in Norfolk—becoming, as one aide puts it, ‘almost semi-detached royals’—has been to bring up his children as far removed as possible from the pressures and influence of palace life that he remembers only too well, from the formality of ever-present servants to the paparazzi.” While William’s mother, Diana, loved the bright lights of the city, the rest of William and Kate’s families are firmly attached to country life. Charles and Camilla are famously happy outside, tramping through gardens and fields, while Michael and Carole Middleton have always lived in semi-rural locales.

The parish church, where the Queen, her family and staff worship when at Sandringham, is “considered to be one of the finest carrstone buildings in existence, and dates back in its present form to the 16th century.” It may be a country church, but, with its royal connections, it boasts some rather spectacular additions. As the Sandringham website explains, “The sumptuously decorated chancel with its carved angels frames the silver altar and reredos presented to Queen Alexandra by the American Rodman Wanamaker as a tribute to King Edward VII. He also presented her with the silver pulpit and a silver 17th-century Spanish processional cross.”

After the baptism, everyone went to Sandringham House for a tea that included Charlotte’s christening cake, made from a layer of her parents’ wedding cake, and also to sit for the official pictures, taken this time by Mario Testino, whose snaps of Diana are iconic. If past photos are any indication, expect big brother George to steal the show. Here is a picture of Charles from 1950:

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/princess-charlottes-christening-a-mix-of-old-and-new/feed/1A princess’s busy 12 hours: Labour, birth, a brother’s visit, homehttp://www.macleans.ca/society/a-princesss-busy-12-hours-labour-birth-a-brothers-visit-home/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/a-princesss-busy-12-hours-labour-birth-a-brothers-visit-home/#commentsSat, 02 May 2015 18:03:15 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=714717The new royal baby may have taken a while to arrive, but she made an entrance

Prince William and Kate leave St. Mary’s Hospital with their new baby girl by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters

Just before 6 a.m. Kate had been admitted to St. Mary’s Hospital in the early stages of labour. The Great Kate Wait was almost over, though no one knew how quickly it would end. The in-labour announcement was made at 8 a.m., after a night of Royal Baby Blackout (the Queen is 89, and she’s told first, so nothing happens between 10 p.m. and 8 a.m, so Her Majesty can enjoy her sleep).

Royal watchers got to camp out in front of the hospital’s Lindo Wing, and everyone settled in for a day of saying everything about absolutely nothing. Then, at a few minutes after 11 a.m., came news from Kensington Palace:

The easel at Buckingham Palace giving details of the birth of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s daughter today pic.twitter.com/0yp1lNi462

Kate gave birth a mere two-and-a-half hours after being admitted to hospital. The sixth stage of the Great Kate Wait was over almost before it began. Needless to say, Twitter exploded with everyone and anyone getting into the congratulatory act. Even the Queen wore pink.

Before anyone could catch their breath came word that Kate’s hairdresser was seen entering the hospital, and that meant only one thing: that William and Kate weren’t going to spend a night in hospital but rather would leave with their new daughter for Kensington Palace, where big brother George was being entertained by his grandmother, Carole Middleton. By 4 p.m. George was at the hospital, waving to the crowds of media from the arms of his dad, William, who’d done a quick dash home to collect him. There were no smiles from George, but at least everyone got a glimpse of him. After all, it was only the third officially sanctioned appearance of the future king in Britain. (The first was his birth, the second his christening, back in October 2013).

Then, at around 6:15 came the pictures everyone wanted. From arriving in hospital, to leaving, just 12 hours had passed.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/a-princesss-busy-12-hours-labour-birth-a-brothers-visit-home/feed/0Where’s Prince George? How the future king has been invisiblehttp://www.macleans.ca/society/wheres-prince-george-how-the-future-king-has-been-invisible/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/wheres-prince-george-how-the-future-king-has-been-invisible/#commentsSat, 02 May 2015 17:39:05 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=713959Can the bargain between the media and the royals over photos of Prince George hold, especially with the arrival of a princess?

Prince George held by his father, Prince William, at the hospital to see his new sister on May 2, 2015 by Leon Neal/Afp/Getty Images

When Prince George, 21 months, came to see his new sister at St. Mary’s Hospital, it was only the third time he’d been seen at a royal event in Britain; the first was his own photo op as a newborn.

The last time the country saw Prince George at an officially sanctioned event in Britain, he was the star attraction. It was his christening in October 2013. The three-month-old was wearing a priceless lace-and-silk gown as he was held safely in his mother’s arms. Aside from a handful of photographs, chosen by the palace and released to the media, he has all but disappeared from public view in Britain.

Sure, Australians and New Zealanders saw lots of him when his parents went on a tour down under in April 2014. Images and videos were flashed around the world of him playing with other babies, excitedly meeting a bilby at a zoo and throwing presents on the ground. Bestowed with the nickname “Cheeks,” his grumpy face was everywhere. Then nowhere. In the last year, there have been only six approved images of George­—two sets of three photographs released for his birthday and Christmas.

“George is invisible,” says Judy Wade, a Hello! royal correspondent who spent more than 30 years covering the house of Windsor. “Okay, maybe William and Kate want him to grow up normally away from the spotlight, which is admirable, but it does not reduce the public demand for more George,” she says.

There has always been a bargain between royal parents and the mainstream press in Britain. The Windsors ensure the media gets regularly updated photos of the children, and in return the British press leave the children alone and, importantly, agree not to publish paparazzi images. A few rogue operators break the agreement every now and again, but by and large, the pact has held.

When William was George’s age, photographs were taken and released to a public hungry for new images of the young prince. The number of releases is roughly the same as today­. The photos are classic: William having his tummy tickled by his mother, Diana; William being held in his father’s arms while his mother entertains him with a toy rattle. They were taken by a small pool of professional photographers and cameramen, invited behind the gates of Kensington Palace to record birthdays and other key events. In addition, photographers were permitted to take photos of William as a growing baby and toddler when he travelled with his parents, even little trips to the Queen’s estates of Balmoral or Sandringham.

Today, however, even that highly restricted, controlled access is gone. Instead, William and Kate release a few carefully composed photos of George. Video is banned. The three pictures taken by Press Association photographer John Stillwell for George’s birthday last July show the one-year-old and his parents at the butterfly exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London. For Christmas, another three snaps were released. In each picture, George, then 17 months old, sits on stone steps at Kensington Palace. They were taken by William’s private secretary, Ed Lane Fox.

With just six still images to choose from, news organizations unwilling to buy paparazzi shots have no choice but to recycle images over and over. When Majesty magazine—hardly a bastion of aggressive royal baby journalism—went to press in early April with its latest issue, the cover image of a seated George was one that the public has seen umpteen times before. “We always agreed to limit photos to official photocalls but William is taking that further and giving us almost nothing,” Wade explains. “What William wants, William gets.”

Wade thinks Prince William’s ultra-restrictive policy may stem from his own childhood. “I suppose he remembers when he had to walk into his nursery school and primary school through banks of snappers. He also saw fights in the streets of Alpine resorts with his police protection officers wrestling intrusive French paps to the ground.” Wade witnessed many of those instances, and recalls seeing how terrified both William and Harry were. “It’s no wonder William doesn’t want his own children exposed to this.”

Yet the couple’s restriction on official photos hasn’t stopped the lucrative offshore business of selling pictures of George taken by independent photographers and anyone with a smartphone, the so-called citizen paparazzi. Foreign publications, especially tabloids, have no qualms about running them. In mid-April, Australia’s New Idea magazine published photos of a heavily pregnant Kate taking George to a petting zoo near their country home in Norfolk. A few months earlier, the pages and website of the New York Daily News featured a swimsuit-clad William with the Middleton clan during a family vacation on the Caribbean island of Mustique. A photo of Kate with George and his nanny also ran. In the age of social media, those images were instantaneously shared around the world, including Britain.

Last October, the couple’s lawyers protested when a photographer was seen near Prince George in Battersea Park in London. They complained he’d placed the toddler “under surveillance and [was] monitoring his daily routines.” The photographer’s lawyers shot back, saying he didn’t breach media codes of practices, and had “not harassed or intimidated Prince George, his nanny or any other person.” Furthermore, he would continue taking photos when royals, including George, “were out in public, as was his right.”

The case sparked debate as to whether a line had indeed been crossed. After all, when royal-friendly Hello! splashed paparazzi images of Kate and baby George on an airport tarmac in the Caribbean in 2013, palace officials gave tacit approval to the images. That prompted accusations that the couple was cherry-picking which publication to criticize, and which to support—and what is deemed private or public.

There does seem to be evidence for this. In June 2014, British photographers were allowed to capture George showing off his nascent walking skills on the sidelines of a polo match in which William was playing. When those informal images turned up in every paper and newscast, there was no protest from the palace.

Prince George in Kensington Palace, November 2014

Royal parents elsewhere have a more relaxed attitude toward the press. In Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria and her husband regularly release both still and video images of their daughter, Estelle, born 17 months before George. And she’s slowly, carefully being introduced to the duties of being a future queen.

At 15 months old, she was carried by her mother to congratulate the men’s hockey team on winning the world championship. Wearing a Swedish jersey, Estelle peered inside the trophy cup while her mother crouched beside her.

That policy “doesn’t cut any ice with our royals,” Wade says. “They seem to regard the European royal families as not what they want to emulate.” For Wade and the rest of the royal press corps, fingers were crossed that they would see George at St. Mary’s Hospital when Kate has her second baby. There was precedent—31 years ago, Prince Charles brought William, then 2, to see his new brother, Harry.

While William did appear with George, the couple has made it clear they will bend, if not break royal rules, to suit their growing family. Right now, the bargain between palace and press is holding. But it is a deal under pressure.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/wheres-prince-george-how-the-future-king-has-been-invisible/feed/0The new royal baby: More than a spare to the heirhttp://www.macleans.ca/society/the-new-royal-baby-more-than-a-spare-to-the-heir/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/the-new-royal-baby-more-than-a-spare-to-the-heir/#commentsSat, 02 May 2015 10:41:21 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=714389The princess will share an unbreakable bond with brother George

The birth of every child is joyous. And while parents, relatives and friends fuss over the newest bundle, the oohs and aahs that welcomed the first-born are replaced with more muted celebrations. They’ve been there, done that. Still, a second child enjoys the benefit of inheriting tantrum-tested parents. Muscle memory automatically switches a fussing babe into a better arm position while tiny diapers no longer appear to be geometry experiments with sticky flaps.

Those differences are on stark display when that second child belongs to Prince William and his wife, Kate. When George was born on July 22, 2013, his arrival made front-page headlines around the world. After all, he will one day follow his father, grandfather and great-grandmother onto the throne. For weeks before George’s arrival, hordes of media had camped outside St. Mary’s Hospital, while a live feed of its front doors was watched by millions. This time, the media assembled only after Kate was in labour, though, like last time, she was reportedly well past her due date. In 2013, gifts for the baby included a fatted bull and a 17th-century manuscript. This time, more traditional congratulatory letters are expected for the princess.

Sure, pretty much everyone with an opinion wanted a girl, including Prince Charles. A desire for frou-frou has been building for years. It’s been 65 years since a princess was born in the main line of succession (Anne in 1950). No wonder that on the William Hill betting site, the top six names—with Alice at No. 1—were all girls, followed by James with rather paltry 14:1 odds.

Thanks to legislation passed in all 16 realms, this princess, and all future girls, will not be shuffled down the line of succession if a son comes along later. Now birth order alone determines a Windsor’s relationship to the throne.

After a 21/2-hour labour, Kate gave birth to HRH Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana of Cambridge at 8:34 a.m. on May 2. She weighted 8 lb., 3 oz, and her arrival was greeted with incredible excitement. Yet all the frivolity takes nothing away the import of a second royal child. HRH Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge is the future king of Britain and, at least for now, 15 other realms around the globe. His destiny is set. He will wear St. Edward’s crown at a glittering coronation. By contrast, his sister has one preordained role: George’s back-up.

“First the heir, then the spare,” is the age-old royal motto. Passing the throne safely to the next generation is an all-consuming obsession for a family that can trace its lineage back to Egbert of Wessex (770-839 CE). It may sound cold and calculating, but having children is especially fraught when the family business involves reigning over a population of more than 140 million. Add in the entire Commonwealth, which is headed by Queen Elizabeth II, and that number soars to 2.2 billion, nearly a third of the planet.

There’s a reason why there’s always a back-up, and even a back-up to the back-up: stuff happens. Of the last four monarchs, two have been the second son. In 1892, Albert Victor, the heir to the heir of Victoria, died suddenly of pneumonia. His brother George took his place in succession, and also inherited his fiancée, Mary of Teck. In 1936, after Edward VIII hot-footed it out of Britain to marry his twice-divorced American girlfriend, it was the present Queen’s father who stepped in to be king.

Being the second child may seem like an easy sinecure—all the perks without any of the responsibilities of being sovereign—but it can be a difficult position. Like politicians such as U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, they have to create a role for themselves beyond just being a spare. Yet unlike politicians who spend a few years close to the seat of power, for Windsor spares, it is a gig for a lifetime.

For 29 years, Prince Harry was the spare for his older brother, William. Then came George. It’s no wonder that when Harry was asked for his own reaction to being pushed further down the line of succession on the announcement that baby No. 2 was on the way, the prince grinned broadly, “Great!” But Harry is too close to the throne to eschew royal obligations like his cousins, who work in the private sector. He’s one of four councillors of state, charged with carrying out many of the Queen’s duties in her absence.

When the future Edward VIII (centre) abdicated, his brother (right) became George VI, with brother, George (left). (Keystone-France/Getty Images)

Now, after 10 years in the military, including two combat tours in Afghanistan, Prince Harry, 30, is figuring out what he is to do next. He’ll have to carve out a path that plays to his strengths—an impish sense of humour, his military experience and an ability to connect with everyone, especially children—without upstaging his big brother or father as they move up the royal chain of command.

“Don’t do anything and you’re lazy, a drain on taxpayers. Do stuff and [be criticized] for the expense of travel,” says Jessica Morgan, who co-wrote The Royal We, a funny fictional riff on William and Kate’s romance that features Freddie as a charming, yet troublesome spare who is Harry in all but name. “It can be lose-lose.”

Harry will always live in palaces—right now he’s in William and Kate’s former London pad, tiny Nottingham Cottage in the Kensington Palace complex. His sizable inheritance from his late mother, Diana, princess of Wales, ensures he’ll never count pennies. He’ll party in exclusive clubs and play expensive sports like polo.

His privilege also comes with a distinct lack of privacy. Most soldiers can go to Las Vegas for a weekend of drinking and strip pool, safe in the knowledge that what happens there, stays there. Not so for the world’s most eligible bachelor. After his naked body was in every newspaper, Harry had to face not only his superiors, but his commander-in-chief grandmother, the Queen. While that family conversation could not have been pleasant—though the Queen is famous for discreetly signalling her displeasure rather than directly confronting a relative—Harry can boast an extended family that will rally around a royal under seige.

One of the unseen but most important jobs of a sibling to a future monarch is friend and confidant. With only two years separating them, William and Harry went to the same schools, including Eton and Sandhurst military academy. Though Charles and Diana tried to protect them from their nasty, public marital spats, those trying times forged a bond between the brothers that is unbreakable. “He is the one person on this Earth who I can actually really, you know, we can talk about anything,” Harry said of his older brother in 2005. “We understand each other and we give each other support.” Not only are they both helicopter pilots, but they share passions, including charities that focus on Africa.

Prince William and Prince Harry joke as they pose with an African rock python snake when they visit Mokolodi Education Centre on June 15, 2010 in Gaborone, Botswana. The Princes are on a joint trip to Southern Africa and will visit projects supported by their respective charities Tusk Trust (Prince William) and Sentebale (Prince Harry). Royal baby. Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images

“You’ve got a really trusted sibling who is incredibly complementary to you in character as well as in outlook and belief and ideals and values and that sort of thing, which Prince Harry undoubtedly is with Prince William,” says Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton, the princes’ former privacy secretary, in the recent biography of Harry by author Penny Junor. “He can apply different skills and talents to some of the issues that William as monarch may not have the time for, or which might not be quite appropriate for the top man to do but which the man one down can do.” William and Harry “bring the best out of each other,” a family friend told Junor.

Royal siblings can also be counted on to read each other the riot act, or act as buttresses in times of trouble. Spares understand the lifetime of responsibilities that face an heir. In 1936, when the crown was unexpectedly passed to their father, now George VI, Princess Margaret, 6, asked her 10-year-old sister, Elizabeth, “Does that mean you’re going to be queen?” It did. “Poor you,” is all Margaret could say. She grew up to be a haughty and hot-tempered princess famous for her partying and drinking. Yet in private, she was Elizabeth’s sounding board, someone who could be assured to never repeat a regal confidence. The sisters talked on the phone or in person virtually every day until Margaret’s death in 2002.

Princess Elizabeth and Margaret with a corgiUllstein Bild/Getty Images

This newest Windsor will also perform that important role as support for the future monarch. When Kate’s second pregnancy was revealed in September, Harry said, “I think George will be over the moon. I think he will be thrilled having another small younger brother or sister.” With a mere 21 months separating George from his sister they’ll be able to get into plenty of mischief together at their homes in Kensington Palace in London, and Anmer Hall on the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk.

Prince William and Kate may have a professional nanny in Spanish-born Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo, but they are hands-on parents, determined to establish a stable, happy family life before the crush of responsibilities and duties transform them into full-time royals. During their 2014 trip to New Zealand and Australia, images showed young parents casually wiping away drool from Prince George’s chin and distracting the rambunctious baby when he started getting squirmy.

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George of Cambridge meet a Bilby called George as they visit the Bilby Enclosure at Taronga Zoo on April 20, 2014 in Sydney, Australia. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are on a three-week tour of Australia and New Zealand, the first official trip overseas with their son, Prince George of Cambridge. CREDIT: Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images

George is already showing flashes of a strong, independent mind. A year ago in New Zealand, “Cheeks,” as he’s been nicknamed, grabbed toys from a girl during a playdate. More recently, when Kate told her son that his father was in China, he toddled over to the china cabinet, peered inside and proclaimed, “Daddy is not here.”

The children will benefit from belonging to a tightly knit extended family, both Windsor and Middleton. Harry lives around the corner, while Kate’s sister, Pippa, is a 30-minute walk away in Chelsea. Kate’s parents, Carole and Michael, are very close to their daughter and son-in-law. After George was born, Kate and William moved into their home for a few weeks. It was there that Michael took the first informal post-hospital snap of the new family. Now the grandparents are expected to reciprocate at Anmer Hall, where William is based for his job as an air ambulance pilot.

While Prince Charles doesn’t spend as much time with George as the self-employed Middletons—his schedule is famously full—there is clearly a bond. In a recent palace video, a picture of Charles comfortably holding his grandson could be seen in the background.

For a monarchy that has survived civil wars and revolutions, true security comes with heirs and spares. George III had 15 children, yet in 1817 his family was threatened with extinction when his only legitimate grandchild, the immensely popular Princess Charlotte, died in childbirth. The king’s surviving sons were forced to ditch mistresses and curb their dissolute ways to both marry and procreate. The result was seven grandchildren.The closest to the throne inherited it at 18 from uncle William IV. Her name was Victoria.

On Sept. 9, Victoria’s record as the longest-reigning monarch will finally be surpassed by her great-great granddaughter, Elizabeth II. It’s a moment worthy of the history books. However, when the Windsors sit down in Sandringham this Christmas, there’s little doubt of what will be the family’s top event of 2015: a new baby in the family.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/the-new-royal-baby-more-than-a-spare-to-the-heir/feed/7The princess is home! The 8th, and last stage of the #GreatKateWaithttp://www.macleans.ca/society/the-princess-is-home-the-8th-and-last-stage-of-the-greatkatewait/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/the-princess-is-home-the-8th-and-last-stage-of-the-greatkatewait/#commentsSat, 02 May 2015 09:26:51 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=712729Just as there are five stages of grief, there are eight stages of royal pregnancies. Patricia Treble explains.

A banner made by royal fan John Loughrey, aged 60, hangs stuck to a wall across the street from the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London, Thursday, April 23, 2015. (Matt Dunham/AP)

There are five stages of grief, 12 steps in Alcoholics Anonymous and 21 parts to this year’s Tour de France.

For royal pregnancies, there are eight stages:

1. Idle speculation: No one has any idea if a royal is pregnant, so hey, let’s gossip. A year ago, rumours were flowing during Prince William and Kate’s tour of Australia and New Zealand. She put a swift end to the speculation by not only drinking wine, but also going on a rough river excursion.

2.Educated guesses: A mere four days before it was revealed that Kate was pregnant with her first child, I counted belt holes in three separate outfits—yes, this is the life of a royal specialist—and came to a conclusion. As I wrote at the time, “It could just be a confluence of fashion choices, but after this week I’ve changed my stock answer. Now it’s ‘We won’t know officially until they announce it, but I think she could pregnant.’ ”

3. The announcement: Both of Kate’s pregnancies were revealed well before the three month mark. The first when she was merely four to six weeks along, because she was in hospital with severe morning sickness. The second when she was around two months pregnant, again because she backed out of an engagement due to the same illness. This news sends the media rushing to calendars to shift vacations out of the arrival zone.

4. The last trimester: As her belly gets bigger and bigger, stories start appearing about baby carriages, nannies, her maternity leave, and where she’ll give birth. Her fashion is analyzed and evaluated. For this pregnancy, What Kate Wore created the definitive guide to Kate’s maternity clothes.

5. The last month: This is complicated because no royal reveals her exact due date. They aren’t idiots. Any such declaration will automatically spawn stories proclaiming she has two days to go or is two days over In March, royal officials briefed the press that the new baby was due in mid-to-late April. That’s it. So all those stories that authoritatively claimed her due date was April 25, or April 28, are just cannon fodder.

Speculation mounts about what name will be picked—Alice is touted this time—as well as possible godparents. As days tick by with no news, the approaches to Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace are staked out. Royal watchers obsessively check their phones for official notice that Step 6 is here. No bit of news is too small to mention.

6. Labour: To turn Winston Churchill’s famous quote on its head, it’s not the end of the beginning, but perhaps the beginning of the end. Notification that Kate is in the Lindo Wing of St. Mary’s Hospital gives permission for all the news organizations to cover the new baby 24/7. Of course, there is no more news than in Step 5—aside from the fact that she’s in labour—but that’s never stopped news channels. The phase only ends with official word of the birth. For George, the news came so close to evening deadlines that newspapers were in a panic. Finally the news was broken, not by traditional notice on an easel at Buckingham Palace, but an email to the media. (Note: if the baby arrives after 10 p.m. local time, then there will be no news until 8 a.m. the next day. Why? Because great-granny has to be told before the public, and the 89-year-old likes a good night’s sleep. Also, she’s the Queen. Who is going to wake her up?)

7. Appearance: Around 24 hours after the birth, [UPDATE: this time, they left within 12 hours, posed for pictures, but answered no questions] the mother and dad will leave the hospital with their child. Usually they will pose for pictures, and answer a few questions before retreating behind palace walls. Interestingly, most royal mothers are far more careful with their appearance with the second child, than the first. This precedent was likely broken with Kate, who was professionally made up (hair and make-up) before leaving with George.

8. Naming the new Windsor: This can happen at any time in the first few days. There seems to be no rhyme or reason as to the timing. Most royal children have four first names, George has three. And that ends the #GreatKateWait, 2015 edition.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/the-princess-is-home-the-8th-and-last-stage-of-the-greatkatewait/feed/0Ready, set, bet: The thing to do during Great Kate Wait 2http://www.macleans.ca/society/ready-set-bet-the-thing-to-do-during-great-kate-wait-2/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/ready-set-bet-the-thing-to-do-during-great-kate-wait-2/#commentsFri, 24 Apr 2015 04:23:35 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=711285Betting on the royal baby name is big business, and a welcome distraction. So we joined in.

No one wants a repeat of 2013’s Great Kate Wait. After all, hordes of media lived outside St. Mary’s Hospital, burning under the hot summer sun. A live feed of the doors to the hospital’s Lindo Wing, where Kate would give birth, was watched by millions. Yet for weeks, nothing happened. The media spent umpteen days inventing things to talk about. Was the Queen impatient for her new great-grandchild? Would Kate be induced? What colour dress would she wear when she left hospital? No topic was too inane or trivial.

Now, for the imminent birth of Prince William and Kate’s second child, the media has been banned from its hospital campsite. They can only gather after the duchess of Cambridge goes into labour. Yet that doesn’t solve the problem of waiting for an event that may happen today, or tomorrow, or next week.

For William Hill, one of Britain’s leading betting firms, gambling on royal baby names is a tradition that goes back around 40 years, says spokesman Rupert Adams. There are three types of betters. The serious ones spend hours and hours researching friends and family of Catherine and William for likely names. Others literally bet on their own children’s names. Then there are those who gamble on utterly unlikely names such as Chardonnay and Tyrone (both at 500:1) so they can talk about it in the pub or bar.

Like everything, most people wait until the last minute to lay a flutter. There’s form. “Kate was very late,” Adams explains, which helped extend the crescendo of bets in 2013. Then she and William did the unexpected. “They announced it was a boy, then took time to announce the name,” he says. Betting went absolutely insane. Originally, the firm hoped around $100,000 would be laid on baby names. It got more than $1 million.

This time, most bets have been laid in the last 10 days. “It will be nothing like last time,” says Adam, with a caveat. “We have a suspicion she will be late. It will ratchet up again.” While James and Arthur are the front-runners for a boy, Alice is in the lead for a girl’s name. It’s not a traditionally royal name, though Prince Philip’s mother is an Alice. Indeed, it was only on the list because an employee’s daughter is called Alice.

It was given 14:1 odds, then leapt into first place (6:4) around two weeks ago when a rather suspicious rush of cash was plunked down in the city of Tunbridge Wells. In an hour, 26 bets were placed, each for around $100, just low enough that local William Hill shops wouldn’t have to call head office for permission. Adams believes someone in the city heard something about the baby, then told friends and family, who placed the bets. Since then, the firm has had two $1,000 bets on Alice. To put it in perspective, the average bet is around $6.

Maclean’s has decided to get in on the action, with two bets that owe absolutely nothing to serious research, or even educated hunches.

1. $5 on Patricia, currently at 100:1

It’s this author’s name, and I like it. “Princess Patricia” has a nice ring to it, don’t you think? Also, it has a royal link to Canada. Princess Patricia of Connaught was the beautiful daughter of HRH Prince Arthur, duke of Connaught, who was governor general from 1911-16. As the official vice-regal website says:

Their daughter, Princess Patricia, also lent her name and support to the raising of a new Canadian army regiment — Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry. Princess Patricia personally designed its badge and colours for the regiment to take overseas to France. As the regiment’s colonel-in-chief, she played an active role in the regiment until her death. She was succeeded in 1974 by her cousin and goddaughter, the Rt. Hon. Lady Patricia Brabourne, who became the Countess Mountbatten of Burma.

She had her pick of royal husbands, but chose love. In 1919, she married Cmdr. Alex Ramsey, a former aide-de-camp of her father and the third son of the earl of Dalhousie. And so she wouldn’t outrank him, she surrendered her royal titles, becoming Lady Patricia Ramsey. Hundreds of thousands lined London’s streets to see the couple go by in a carriage.

2. $1 on Mortimer, currently at 250:1

A family friend, William, has a girlfriend, Kate. Even before 2013, they were proud owners of a dog, George. Given that naming coincidence, I emailed his aunt to ask if there were any other members of their family. It turns out they have a cat named Mortimer.

In the unlikely event that one of those names wins, then Maclean’s will donate all proceeds to charity.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/ready-set-bet-the-thing-to-do-during-great-kate-wait-2/feed/0Has an heir to the throne ever worked for a private company?http://www.macleans.ca/society/has-an-heir-to-the-throne-ever-worked-for-a-private-company/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/has-an-heir-to-the-throne-ever-worked-for-a-private-company/#commentsTue, 31 Mar 2015 21:45:52 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=700961Prince William is back in the cockpit, this time in an air-ambulance helicopter. Could this be a conflict?

Prince William poses in front of a Sea King helicopter at RAF Valley in Anglesey Wales on June 1, 2012 (CP/AP, SAC Faye Storer, MOD)

Prince William is back in the cockpit, 18 months after he finished a stint as a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue helicopter pilot—this time, as an air ambulance pilot. Earlier this month, William got his Air Transport Pilot’s licence, after passing 14 written exams on everything from navigation to air law. In addition, he is learning to pilot a new helicopter. The RAF used Sea Kings, but he’s reportedly going to fly the new Airbus H145 (formerly the EC145 T2).

“The Duke of Cambridge has today started work as an employee of Bond Air Services. Over the coming months, he will undertake job-specific training before he begins piloting missions for East Anglian Air Ambulance during the summer. The mandatory training will involve simulator, aircraft and in-flight skills training.

“This job will be the duke’s primary occupation.” (His roster will take into account his royal duties, and he’ll donate his $80,000 salary to charity.)

William has made no secret of his desire to put off being a full-time royal for as long as possible, especially while his father, Charles, and grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, are healthy and continue to undertake a large number of duties.

While East Anglian Air Ambulance is a charity, Bond Air is a private firm. Bond’s website says it’s a leader in providing helicopters for search and rescue, as well air ambulance and other support services for both private firms and public administrations, such as East Anglian. Bond is owned by Babcock International, Britain’s leading “engineering support services organization,” which manages everything from nuclear reactors to vocational training of students.

Has an heir to the throne ever worked for a private company?

As far as I can tell, no. As a future monarch, William must always be wary of those wanting to take advantage of his presence. Now, Bond and, thus, Babcock, have a future king on the payroll. Surely, management will face an overwhelming temptation to take advantage of his employment for business purposes. He isn’t like his cousins, including Olympic rider Zara Phillips, who accepts private sponsorship for her riding career and, in return, is featured in marketing schemes. Phillips may be the Queen’s oldest granddaughter, but she works for a living, and undertakes no public duties. That isn’t the case with William.

Kate, left, Duchess of Cambridge, watched as Britain’s Prince William, right, talks to Jay-Z during the second half of an NBA basketball game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Cleveland Cavaliers. (Frank Franklin II, AP Photo)

NEW YORK — Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate, took courtside seats tonight to watch King James.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived at their seats early in the second half of the Cleveland Cavaliers’ game against the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night.

Cleveland’s Kevin Love was shooting a free throw when fans stood and roared as the couple walked along the sideline to seats near centre court.

LeBron James had called being watched by them as part of their first trip to New York “an honour” on Sunday.

The couple met earlier at Barclays Center with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, celebrating a partnership between the Royal Foundation and the league to raise awareness about the importance of international wildlife conservation.

Crowds of officials began gathering near one of the tunnels to the arena floor at halftime in preparation of the royals’ move to their seats.

They were shown on the overhead videoboard with about 2 1/2 minutes left in the period, getting another loud cheer when Kate waved to the camera.

After the third quarter, Jay-Z and Beyonce were led across the court to meet them. Jay-Z was formerly a part-owner of the Nets and has kept his seats next to the team’s bench.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/this-just-happened-prince-william-and-kate-jay-z-and-beyonce/feed/0Newsmakers of the day: William and Kate in the Big Applehttp://www.macleans.ca/society/will-and-kate-in-the-big-apple/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/will-and-kate-in-the-big-apple/#commentsMon, 08 Dec 2014 16:47:39 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=649695New York City is in adoration overdrive. And the royals just arrived.

Newsmakers of the day: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

There’s celeb royalty, and then there is real royalty. And New York is getting a very quick reminder of why the real deal always trumps Hollywood. The Kardashians may be pursued by tabloids, but they don’t face anything like the white-hot spotlight permanently focused on Prince William and his wife, Kate. The royal couple was met by a blinding barrage of flashes on their arrival at the Carlyle Hotel in New York, their stateside base for a quick three-day visit. They spent all of three seconds—perhaps six—travelling from car to door, with a moment for photographers to get a shot. Yet the networks went live with blanket coverage that focused on the closed door of the hotel. It was almost a flashback to the “Great Kate Wait” of 2013, when the media camped outside St. Mary’s Hospital, waiting for Prince George to be born. Beside filling airtime with banter—Is George coming? Nope, he’s with Kate’s parents. Will she wander down to Soho for a bit of shopping? Extremely unlikely, given the crushing schedule.

Until Monday and Tuesday’s back-to-back events, just about the only fun was betting on the colour of Kate’s coat. Most plumped for blue (I went wild, and thought grey). We lost. It turns out she wore a maroon bespoke coat “featuring a bouclé textured print and high scoop neckline,” said its design firm, Séraphine.” Then it was a quick change for a private dinner to thank the financiers who have contributed to their private foundation. This time, I should have bet big, because she keeps wearing the same basic outfit: a black lace dress. Think I’m exaggerating? I spent five minutes on What Kate Wore and found these: Nov. 13, Oct. 23. Also these from earlier, including the War Horse premiere (also seen here). She’s got enough black lace for a dedicated closet. It’s obviously a look she likes: She was modelling a tiny black lace number in 2002, when Prince William first noticed her. The rest, obviously is history.

There are plenty of events in the next two days. One hopes she has exhausted her black-lace enthusiasm.

Kensington Palace has released information about the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s programme ahead of their visit to the U.S.:

Sunday, Dec. 7
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive in New York

Monday, Dec. 8
World Bank, Washington: The Duke of Cambridge will attend the International Corruption Hunters Alliance conference, followed by a working lunch. The Duke will be accompanied by Mr. William Hague. The Duke will give a speech at the conference focusing on corruption surrounding the illegal wildlife trade.

Northside Center for Child Development, Harlem: The Duchess of Cambridge, accompanied by the First Lady of New York City, will visit the centre, which fosters the healthy development of children and families by providing high-quality mental health and educational services. The Duchess and First Lady will take part in gift-wrapping with volunteers and will meet students undertaking a craft-making exercise.

Lunch at British Consul General’s Residence, New York: The Duchess of Cambridge will meet members of the British Community in New York from the culture, arts, hospitality and business sectors.

Conservation Reception at British Consul General’s Residence, New York: The Duke of Cambridge, accompanied by Secretary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton, will attend a reception co-hosted by the Royal Foundation and the Clinton Foundation, in recognition of the conservation work carried out by Tusk and United for Wildlife partners: Wildlife Conservation Society; Conservation International; and The Nature Conservancy.

NBA Basketball game (Brooklyn Nets vs. Cleveland Cavaliers), Brooklyn: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will attend an NBA Basketball game to support the ongoing collaboration between the Royal Foundation, United for Wildlife and the NBA.

Tuesday, Dec. 9
The National September 11 Memorial Museum, New York: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will tour the National Sept. 11 Memorial Museum. Their Royal Highnesses will view one of the Memorial Reflection Pools and spend time in the Memorial Plaza and Memorial Museum.

The Door/CityKids, New York: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit The Door to see the work they carry out in partnership with the CityKids Foundation. Both organisations offer services to young people to help them reach their potential. Their Royal Highnesses will tour the youth organization and view arts performances by the young people.

Creativity is GREAT Reception, hosted by NeueHouse, New York: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will attend a reception at NeueHouse celebrating the wealth of British Talent in the Creative Industries based in New York.

Innovation is GREAT Reception, hosted by Shutterstock at The Empire State Building, New York: The Duke of Cambridge, accompanied by The Mayor of New York City, will visit the observation deck at the 86th floor, attend the technology-themed reception; and present the winners of the GREAT Tech Awards with trophies.

St. Andrews 600th Anniversary Dinner at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will join this event, which will support scholarships and bursaries for students from under-privileged communities, new student sports facilities in St Andrews, investment in the university’s medical and science faculties and a lectureship in American Literature at St. Andrews.

NEW YORK — Among the roughly 5 million visitors expected in New York this holiday season, at least two are certain to get the royal treatment: Prince William and his wife, Kate. They’re due Sunday for the first trip either has made to the United States’ biggest city, and William also is set to visit the nation’s capital for the first time. A few things to know:

THE GAME PLAN

Properly known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the royals are making their first official visit to the United States since a 2011 jaunt to California. (William made a personal trip to a friend’s Memphis, Tennessee, wedding this May with his brother, Prince Harry.)

The duke and duchess have been looking forward to a three-day trip involving issues “close to both of their hearts,” a spokeswoman said.

Kate is expecting their second child in April, but the royals’ schedule is packed with plans ranging from paying respects at the National Sept. 11 Memorial and Museum to taking in a Cleveland Cavaliers-Brooklyn Nets game.

Other events promote British involvement in New York’s technology and creative sectors and spotlight the couple’s charitable interests in wildlife conservation and child development. Among other commitments, William will head to a World Bank conference in Washington to discuss fighting illegal trade in wildlife parts, while Kate will tour a New York child development centre with the city’s first lady, Chirlane McCray.

William and Kate also are due to join Tom Hanks, opera singer Renee Fleming and others at a black-tie, up-to-$10,000-per-seat scholarship fundraiser for the University of St. Andrews, the Scottish institution where the royal couple met and earned degrees.

As an itinerary, “it’s trying to cover a lot of points in a short period of time,” but it signals the couple’s interest in forging ties with Americans who share their philanthropic ideas, says Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine.

NYC, ROYALTY AND ‘ROYALS’

Spain’s Queen Letizia toured a public school just in September. Among British royals, Queen Elizabeth II visited in 2010, and Prince Harry hit both New York and Washington last year. The queen’s daughter, Princess Anne, opened an exhibition of the Magna Carta in Washington last month.

But William and Kate’s watched-round-the-world wedding and parenthood have made them particular magnets for public attention, as a 21st-century royal family in which an heir to the throne drives his newborn home from the hospital himself.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio rose to political prominence pledging to champion the middle class — a point underscored when he took his victory-party stage last year to “Royals,” pop star Lorde’s hit that declares “we’ll never be royals … That kind of luxe just ain’t for us.” But de Blasio has praised William and Kate’s visit, noting their charitable work and saying he’d like to “see how we can work together.”

TRAVELING, WITH A TITLE

The duke and duchess will take commercial flights and stay in a New York hotel, which their spokespeople wouldn’t name.

Their retinue includes two private secretaries, two media aides, an adviser, a personal assistant, and a privately paid hairdresser for Kate. The British government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Royal Foundation — the couple’s and Harry’s charity — and St. Andrews are splitting other trip costs.

BABY WATCH

The couple’s 17-month-old son, Prince George, isn’t making the trip.

Acute morning sickness sidelined Kate for a couple of months earlier this year, but she returned to her royal duties with gusto in late October.

STYLE GUIDE

While the royals promote causes, many eyes will doubtless be on Kate’s clothes. A style icon whose outfits can sell out in stores within hours after she’s seen in them, she’s won fashion-lovers’ affection partly because she doesn’t always choose complex or custom-made attire: “There’s a connection _ you can get it,” or at least a copy of it, says Michael Casey, a professor at New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology.

While Kate has been known to favour such designers as British fashion house Alexander McQueen, London-based Roksanda Ilincic, the Brazilian Issa and the British upscale fashion brand LK Bennett, look for her to pack some American labels for the trip: It’s a tradition to pay some fashion tributes to a host country.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/the-lowdown-on-royal-highnesses-trip-to-the-u-s/feed/0Why a large family makes sense for the royalshttp://www.macleans.ca/society/why-a-large-family-makes-sense-for-the-royals/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/why-a-large-family-makes-sense-for-the-royals/#commentsSun, 14 Sep 2014 13:54:01 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=605547The announcement that William and Kate are expecting a second child can be explained by their famous closeness with their own siblings

Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge holds Prince George as he and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge’s look on while visiting the Sensational Butterflies exhibition at the Natural History Museum on July 2, 2014 in London, England. The family released the photo ahead of the first birthday of Prince George on July 22. (Photo by John Stillwell – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Though the speculation about a second pregnancy for Prince William and his wife, Kate, started swirling the moment they took George home from the hospital in July 2013, it was only confirmed this week in a terse 78-word statement. Like last time, they were forced to release the information before the usual three-month mark because Kate is again ill with severe morning sickness. “She’s feeling OK,” William said. “It’s early days, we hope things settle down and she feels a bit better.”

Though the announcement’s timing was a surprise, the news that William and Kate are expanding their family isn’t a shock. The couple has talked of having children ever since their 2010 engagement. There are practical reasons for royals to have more than one child—the phrase “the heir and the spare” is famous for a reason. However, for William and Kate, the decision is likely more personal. For both parents, their family and especially siblings have played important roles in difficult times. William relied on his brother through their parents’ scandals and divorce as well as the death of their mother, Diana. And when Kate was besieged by the press while dating William, it was her sister, Pippa, and brother, James, who were constantly by her side. Those close relationships are clearly something they want George to experience.

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Whether blue blooded or not, being a sibling means there’s always a playmate or someone to blame when a prank goes wrong. But in the rarefied world of royalty, siblings are the only ones who can truly understand the strains of gilded life in the public eye—and be a true confidante. “It’s amazing how close we’ve become,” Prince Harry said of his big brother, William, in 2005. “He is the one person on this Earth who I can actually really, you know, we can talk about anything. We understand each other and we give each other support.” That’s certainly true today, with tabloids willing to pay handsomely for the most innocuous scrap of palace gossip.

Royal siblings can also be counted on to read each other the riot act, or act as buttresses in times of trouble. William and Harry “bring the best out of each other,” a family friend told author Penny Junor in her new biography of Prince Harry. “Harry forces William to be more spontaneous and freer, and William helps steady Harry up and protects him from himself.”

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The brothers attended the same schools, were both military helicopter pilots and have similar interests in everything from polo to their charitable focuses. They aren’t the only close siblings of the Windsor clan: Queen Elizabeth II is the epitome of calm, cool and collected, while her younger sister, Margaret was infamously mercurial. Yet the two talked daily until Margaret’s death in 2002.

Being part of a large family comes naturally for Kate, too. Her happily married parents and their three children are a tight family unit. Pippa spilled no revelations in her interview with NBC’s Matt Lauer this summer aside from mentioning her “very normal sisterly relationship” with Kate. For Pippa, having royal in-laws has meant the loss of much of her privacy, especially after her form-fitting dress at the 2011 royal wedding plunged her, bum first, into a cauldron of boiling media interest. Every career move, every outfit has been subjected to so much scrutiny that a long-term boyfriend left, unable to cope with the intense interest. Yet for all the public examination of their lives, the Middletons have never given any indication that the outside pressures have changed their relationships with each other.

Toby Melville/Reuters

“We still do a lot together as a family,” Pippa said. “I think that’s really the heart for all of us, is having a really close family that we can sort of be normal with each other, treat each other normally. That’s sort of kept us all, you know, affixed to the ground.” It’s no surprise that the first few weeks of George’s life were spent in the relaxed arms of the Middletons, at their rural Berkshire estate where the family frequently gathers.

William and Kate are likely to recreate that informal, private country lifestyle at Anmer Hall, a 10-bedroom house sheltered within the Queen’s huge Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Given that William is about to start a stint as a regional air ambulance pilot, the couple is expected to use the house as their main base for the next few years, with their newly refurbished apartment at Kensington Palace acting as a London pied-á-terre—albeit one with 20 rooms and two kitchens.

Having a big family is something of a family tradition for the Windsors. “When the public thinks of royalty, they think of a family, especially a large extended family,” notes Carolyn Harris, a Toronto-based royal historian. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip have four children, and while her parents had just two, George V and Mary had six as did Edward VII and Alexandra. Though William and Kate, both 32, are unlikely to follow the example of Queen Victoria, who had nine children in 15 years, they aren’t unique among Europe’s young royals in wanting more than the usual 1.8 children. Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik and Princess Mary have four youngsters, as does the new Belgian monarch, Philippe, and his wife, Mathilde, while the Netherlands’ Willem-Alexander and Máxima have three daughters.

For now, William and Kate are adjusting to the renewed interest in her belly. After saying his wife was feeling okay, William pleaded for everyone to change the subject: “It’s important that we all focus on the big domestic and international news at the moment.” Prince Harry, on the other hand, greeted the pregnancy announcement like only a brother could, joking he couldn’t wait to again see William suffer the sleepless nights inherent with having a baby, and saying of his nephew, “George will be over the moon. I think he will be thrilled having another small younger brother or sister.” As for his own reaction to being pushed further down the line of succession, Harry grinned broadly, “Great!”

]]>The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are expecting their second child Published on 8th September 2014 Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Cambridge is expecting their second child. The Queen and members of both families are delighted with the news. As with her first pregnancy, The Duchess is suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum. Her Royal Highness will no longer accompany The Duke of Cambridge on their planned engagement in Oxford today. The Duchess of Cambridge is being treated by doctors at Kensington Palace.

As royal announcements go, this one follows form, giving away only what is necessary. So don’t hold your breath for any clues as to the baby’s sex—that will be revealed in the birth announcement. Even a due date won’t be released until Kate is past the third-month marker, and even then it will be a “due month,” leaving the media to once again camp outside a London hospital. In honour of the upcoming birth of the fourth in line to the throne—behind Charles, William and brother George—here are nine facts about the new royal baby and his or her future life.

1. The family will be based at Anmer Hall: Sure, more than $6 million was spent upgrading their new base in London, Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace. It may be an “apartment” but it’s really a grand, historic townhouse that needed everything from a new roof to serious asbestos removal before William and Kate could move in. Yet it will really be little more than their London pied-a-terre, since William’s air ambulance job will leave them based in Norfolk most of the year. There, they have Anmer Hall, a 10-bedroom country house on the grounds of Sandringham, the Queen’s private estate. It’s got everything including a swimming pool and conservatory, and the privacy that William and Kate crave.

2. Baby watch: Last time, scores of royal watchers camped outside the Lindo wing of St. Mary’s Hospital in London for a month for the Great Kate Wait. Since an exact due date is never given—way too much pressure on an expectant royal mother—the media couldn’t risk losing the shots of the year. It was marked by searing heat and millions around the world staring at a door that would seemingly never open. Expect to see that door again, on all news channels. Hopefully they’ve touched up its dings and scratches.

3. Big brother George’s education: He will be nearing his second birthday when his younger sibling arrives. While mum and dad are busy with the baby, he’ll be safely in the care of nanny Maria Borrallo, who has been with the family for nearly a year. If all the snaps of the two in parks are any indication, he’ll be spending a lot of time outside, in the fresh air. What he’ll also learn are manners—the Queen isn’t one to tolerate whiny toddlers. When a very young William was misbehaving and acting like a bully, his parents were given a strict lecture that such behaviour would not be tolerated.

4. Grandpa Charles: The Prince of Wales can appear stiff and reserved, but apparently he’s quite the doting grandpa. For a picture released earlier this year, George wore one of his gifts, a customized cashmere sweater.

5. The most relieved man in Britain: After reassuring the public that Kate is doing okay, Prince William was eager to change the subject. Not so his younger brother, Harry. After saying he’d enjoy watching William “suffer” if the new baby was a girl, Harry, third in line of the throne, was asked his reaction to being pushed down the line of succession. Grinning broadly, he said, “Great!” (One day that will likely also be the reaction of this new baby, as he or she waits for big brother George to have kids.)

6. Prince William, part-time royal: A year after resigning from the RAF’s search and rescue unit (which was being privatized), William is going back up in the air, this time as an air ambulance pilot. That means he will again delay his start as a full-time royal. While some grumble that he’s not pulling his weight—his grandmother, 88, and father, 65, regularly undertake between 300 and 500 engagements annually—others want him to have one last chance at relative freedom and privacy before the rigours of royal life descend.

7. It’s never too early to plan ahead: If all goes according to plan, this new baby won’t inherit the throne, but will be able to map a destiny entirely his or her own. While there’s little precedent of what that means for modern royals, Prince Harry and his cousin, Zara Phillips, could be inspirations. Harry, a natural soldier, joined the military right out of school, while Zara, the daughter of Princess Anne, studied for a while and eventually became a professional three-day event equestrian champion, capturing silver at the London Olympics. Regardless, the new baby will be the envy of older brother George, whose life is already mapped out.

8. The pressures and perks of being a royal doctor: Sure, there’s the heart-pounding anxiety that comes with having a royal as a patient, but the perks aren’t bad either. After Prince George’s birth in 2013, Kate’s gynecologist Marcus Setchell was knighted by Prince William. Arise, Sir Marcus. Now, it’s the turn of Alan Farthing, who assisted at George’s birth. As of now, he’s most famous for being the fiancé of journalist Jill Dando, who was mysteriously murdered in 1999.

9. Don’t expect to see a lot of Kate: If her last pregnancy is any guide, she’ll undertake around 15 or so engagements before the birth, with large gaps between batches of public outings. Again, if past precedents apply, don’t expect a startlingly original fashion display—she’ll likely recycle about half her outfits.

LONDON — Prince George is not going to be an only child for long — the toddler will soon have a baby sister or brother to share his fancy digs at Kensington Palace.

British royal officials said Monday that Prince William and the duchess of Cambridge, the former Kate Middleton, are expecting their second child.

For the second time, Kate is being treated for acute morning sickness in the early phases of her pregnancy.

The first time she was so ill she required hospitalization. This time, she is being treated by doctors at her residence in Kensington Palace. She cancelled a planned engagement in Oxford to rest and receive medical care.

The new baby, boy or girl, will become fourth in line to the throne, pushing Prince Harry to fifth. George, who is 13 months old, is third and likely to become Britain’s monarch one day. William is second in line, while his father, Prince Charles, is first.

Britain had changed its laws before George’s birth so that the couple’s first born would be in line for the throne regardless of its sex. Before the change, a girl would have lost her place in line if a boy was born later.

William and Kate have often expressed an interest in having a larger family.

The royal couple and their families are “delighted” with the baby news, said officials at Clarence House, the couple’s office. The announcement follows months of speculation in the glossy British and American press about a possible baby brother or sister for George.
After hospital treatment for severe morning sickness, hyperemesis gravidarum, Kate recovered and gave birth to George in July 2013 without further complications.

The current illness means the 32-year-old duchess may need extra hydration, medication and nutrients.

Britain’s Press Association reported that Kate’s pregnancy hasn’t passed the 12-week stage, which is when she became ill in her first pregnancy.

Prime Minister David Cameron said he was “delighted by the happy news that they’re expecting another baby.”

Royal officials said it wasn’t clear if the duchess will be able to carry out planned official engagements, including a trip to Malta on Sept. 20 and 21 that would mark her first overseas solo trip.

Decisions on events would be made on a “case-by-case” basis, officials said.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/william-and-kate-expecting-second-child/feed/1Prince William to train to become air ambulance pilot next yearhttp://www.macleans.ca/news/world/prince-william-to-train-to-become-air-ambulance-pilot-next-year/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/prince-william-to-train-to-become-air-ambulance-pilot-next-year/#commentsThu, 07 Aug 2014 16:16:33 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=590943William will join a charity group, based in Cambridge, next spring

Britain’s royal officials announced Thursday that starting September, the royal will train for about five months as a helicopter pilot with East Anglian Air Ambulance. If successful, he will join the charity group, based in Cambridge, next spring.

Kensington Palace said Thursday the stint will be William’s main job, though he will also continue to take on royal duties and engagements both in Britain and overseas.

The royal’s duties will include flying both day and night shifts, and working with medics to respond to emergencies ranging from road accidents to heart attacks.

“The pilot is part of the team and he will be looking after patients with conditions that would be horrifying for many, and some pilots may not like that very much,” said Alastair Wilson, the charity’s medical director. “Compared to his role as a search-and-rescue pilot, he may be dealing with more injury patients than he is used to, but I’m sure he will adapt very well to that.”

The job will build on William’s experience as a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue pilot, a position he qualified for in 2012 after serving other military duties.

He left that job last September, shortly after his and his wife Kate’s first son, Prince George, was born.

William will be paid a salary for the new job, which he will donate in full to charity, officials said.

]]>The Commonwealth Games is one of those rare sports events when geopolitics takes a firm back seat to athletic achievement. Given it’s only open to Commonwealth athletes, there’s always a heavy royal contingent. Its locale in Glasgow means that virtually the entire Windsor clan has decamped to Scotland. The timing helps: The Queen always starts her two-month Scottish holiday at this time. This event is heavy on the casual and light on formality—except when it comes to the Queen, though she relaxed enough to be snapped retouching her lipstick during the opening ceremony.

Here are five royal take-aways from Glasgow:

1. Regal photobombing is the new must-have photo. Selfies are oh-so common. On the other hand, being photobombed by the sovereign is as rare as a private audience with Her Majesty herself. When Australian athlete Jayde Taylor was taking selfies with teammates, she got the once-in-a-lifetime shot when Queen Elizabeth II walked into her camera’s range and smiled directly at them. No one is quite sure whether the Queen knew what she was doing—one can imagine Prince Harry explaining “photobombing” and “selfie” to his 88-year-old granny—but the result is a pure delight. And, unlike the London Olympics, she didn’t have to “jump” out of a helicopter with James Bond.

2. Wear regally neutral colours and, for heaven’s sake, don’t chose a brooch that can suggest the head of the Commonwealth loves one of its 53 member nations more than the other.

3. “Lesser royals” can be partisan. Prince Edward, his wife, Sophie, and their children, Louise and James, have attended every day. And they aren’t afraid to get into the spirit of the games, as when Sophie and Louise applauded England’s victory over Malaysia in a preliminary field hockey match.

4. Laugh at mess-ups, because they’ll happen. During the opening ceremony, producers could only watch with horror as the Commonwealth Games Federation president struggled to open the Queen’s Baton, which went around the world and contains her message to the organization. Thankfully, Sir Chris Hoy stepped forward to pry the baton’s top open. The next day, the six-time Olympic gold-medal winning cyclist was stopped and asked for his identification as he entered the velodrome—theChris Hoy velodrome. Fortunately, his sense of humour was intact; he tweeted that the security person was just doing her job.

5. Put down the technology and enjoy the show. The Three Musketeers—William, Kate and Harry—are in the stands, just as they were during the London Olympics, but seem a bit distracted. Perhaps they need Chris Hoy to hop back on his bicycle; their last big public PDA was hugging when Hoy picked up his fifth gold at the 2012 Games.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/3-regal-photobombing-and-other-royal-happenings-at-the-commonwealth-games/feed/05 things to know about those adorable Prince George photoshttp://www.macleans.ca/authors/patricia-treble/5-things-to-know-about-those-adorable-prince-george-photos/
http://www.macleans.ca/authors/patricia-treble/5-things-to-know-about-those-adorable-prince-george-photos/#commentsTue, 22 Jul 2014 00:20:22 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=584623George walks so fast he nearly mowed down the photographer

It was a year ago, on July 22, 2013, that Prince George—”Cheeks” to his fans—was born. Now, on his first birthday, Kensington Palace has released three official photographs. Beyond the obvious overload of adorability, the pictures reveal some surprising details about the toddler who will be king.

1. Behind palace walls: Since his birth, an enormous amount of print has been devoted to George. Yet, for all that attention, his parents, Prince William and Kate, duchess of Cambridge, have been able to keep him out of the public eye. Huge chunks of time have been spent with her parents and on vast estates. That’s also why there was no mass birthday gathering with the media, but rather, a controlled session with one trusted photographer.

By my calculation, George has been seen officially on film or in pix 12 times with 2 pap sightings. Impressive shielding by William and Kate.

2. He’s fast on his feet: A quick look at the scuffed toes of those practical blue shoes show that George loves being upright. “He’s quick on his feet,” John Stillwell, the Press Association photographer who snapped the official shots, told People magazine. “He was walking towards me—I was kneeling down to take the picture and he was on top of me as soon as he started walking.”

3. He has relaxed parents: His mother doesn’t care that there’s a large, dark patch of drool on the left shoulder of her expensive silk dress. In fact, since Kate and William approved the picture, they’re obviously proud of their “take it as we get it” attitude toward parenting.

4. He’s a tough little dude: Yup, George has a reputation for being a tad aggressive. No wonder royal officials hastened to assure everyone that no butterflies were hurt during the production of this picture. And, in case you’re wondering, it’s a blue morpho.

5. Royal synergy at work: Kate and William didn’t just wake up one morning, wondering where they’d have George’s first birthday pictures taken, then think, “Oh, he’d like butterflies, wouldn’t he?” When it comes to photo ops, royalty, and their officials, think ahead. That’s why William and Kate were carefully positioned in front of Uluru, in Australia’s outback, so photographers could capture them during a spectacular sunset. An hour earlier or later, and the pictures would have been ordinary (or dark).

For Prince George’s birthday pictures, they chose one of Kate’s patronages, the Natural History Museum in London. So everyone gets to ooh and ahh at cute pictures, while the museum gets lots of new visitors, interested in checking out their cool butterfly exhibit.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/authors/patricia-treble/5-things-to-know-about-those-adorable-prince-george-photos/feed/0A year in the life of Prince Georgehttp://www.macleans.ca/society/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-prince-george/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-prince-george/#commentsFri, 18 Jul 2014 21:58:04 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=583549Five things you need to know so far: 1. He is a bit of a bruiser

Prince George can’t talk, can barely walk, yet that’s enough for magazines to slap him on the cover while CNN devoted a 30-minute documentary that recounted every snippet of video of the royal toddler. He’s on almost every magazine cover in the world, has been inundated with presents (it’s probably a good thing he doesn’t get to keep the crocodile given by Darwin, Australia), so many that the toy box given by the British cabinet is undoubtedly overflowing, and has even had coins created in his honour by the Royal Mint (his first birthday coin is yours for a mere $1,100).

1. George Alexander Louis goes by many names. After friends of William and Kate took to calling him PG Tips, his parents shortened it to just Tips. Many journalists call him Cheeks (he looks astoundingly like the most famous jowly man, Winston Churchill). His grandpa, Prince Charles, prefers Georgie, while his perennially unsmiling visage has created lots of Grumpy memes. (Bonus: his antics in Australia and New Zealand were fodder for some fun gifs.)

2. His crowning glory is winning awards. His father may be follically challenged, but George has the title of the celebrity toddler with the best hair, knocking Beyoncé’s Blue Ivy and the Beckham kids, out of the competition.

3. He’s a chip off the old block. “George is charging around and opens doors,” says William, who was so rambunctious (a polite description for a terror who was prone to temper tantrums) at nursery school that he was bestowed the name “Basher.” At George’s play date with other babies in New Zealand, he showed off his assertiveness. “His royal prerogative shone through, however, when he took a shine to a Mary-Lou doll in possession of young Eden. He reached for the doll, and snatched it from Eden, before throwing it to the floor,” one account stated.

4. He’s a style setter. His regular day-to-day clothes—classic baby fare including overalls, white sweaters, even polo shirts—may be best sellers, but he takes it up a notch for big events. For an official family snap this spring, he went “bespoke for babies,” a blue cashmere sweater bearing his name created by the Welsh firm Corgi, a gift from Prince Charles (aka the Prince of Wales).

5. He’ll spend virtually all of his childhood out of the public eye. Aside from a photo op here and a cool public event there, George won’t grow up in the glare of TV lights and press cameras. Regardless of what is written on the Internet, that just doesn’t happen. Like all young royals in Europe, George won’t be stalked by the media. In exchange for that restraint, he will appear at regularly staged events so the world can see how he’s growing up. Sure there will be stories about him in the tabloids, but everything will be remarkably restrained. CAVEAT: the paparazzi and “citizen journalists” with cellphone cameras are an entirely different species. They have no mercy.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-prince-george/feed/0Charles & Camilla in Canada vs. William & Kate down underhttp://www.macleans.ca/society/charles-camilla-in-canada-vs-william-kate-down-under/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/charles-camilla-in-canada-vs-william-kate-down-under/#commentsTue, 20 May 2014 14:41:37 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=556345Royal senior citizens do double the work of the Will and Kate generation

Britain’s Prince William and his wife Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, pose in front of the Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock on April 22, 2014. (Phil Noble/Reuters)

There’s always a debate as to whether short royal visits are better or worse than longer ones. A short visit can lessen the planning and protocol involved, while a longer visit allows Windsors to really get to know the country they are visiting, travelling extensively. And then there’s the fact that a short tour to one or two areas allows for frequent returns (Charles and Camilla have been in Canada in 2009, 2012 and now are here for a four-day visit). It’s safe to assume that after a 19-day visit to Australia and New Zealand, William and Kate won’t be taking similar visit there for a while.

So it’s worth taking a look at some of the statistics involved. If you combine Charles and Camilla’s 2009 (11 days) and 2012 tours (four days) to this 2014 tour (four days), then that’s 19 days, exactly the length of the recent tour of William and Kate. And the Canada tours match theirs for travel, hitting nine provinces, with only Alberta missing out. But it’s the number of engagements that’s remarkably different. William and Kate undertook 48 engagements (25 in New Zealand and 23 in Australia) while Charles and Camilla will finish 41 engagements on the current tour alone. I haven’t got hard stats on the previous tours, but even low-ball estimates would be at least 20 in 2012 and 40 in 2009, giving a total for the same number of days of around 100 engagements.

So Charles and Camilla power through an average of five engagements daily, while Kate and William finish exactly half that number: 2.5 engagements daily. (That comparison widens even more when official duties in Britain are included—last year Prince Charles carried out a total of 537, more than anyone, while William, still on military service, did 85.)

Sure, some may say that William and Kate are just easing into royal duties and have a baby, but Charles is a senior citizen—65 to be exact—while Camilla is 66. When it comes to royal duty, the younger generation can only look at their elders and marvel.

The royal tour of New Zealand is at the halfway mark. While its pleasant, rather ordinary nature—lots of military-linked events for the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War, the unveiling of a new portrait of Elizabeth II—has only kicked in its media hype when Prince George is present, there have been a few unexpected treats. This truly is the first royal Twitter tour. Everyone from royal correspondents of the big London papers through fashion bloggers are inundating Twitter with snippets, even passing tips and advice back and forth such as the live feed of George’s playdate with the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society or the ID’ing of Kate’s clothes.

And in that deluge, a lot of the best pictures, and helpful advice, is coming from the official account of the governor general of New Zealand, Sir Jerry Mateparae (@govgeneralNZ). Though it’s only put out a little more than 1,300 tweets since its creation, it’s been pumping out tweet after informative tweet during the tour, becoming a must-have link for all royal watchers. Want to see William and Kate during the Auckland match race? It tweeted a map of vantage points. Want the first good picture of George trying to stand? Ditto. It isn’t trying to impress with pithy statements or press releases—just giving its followers what they want: fast, concise information about the Windsors. And a bit of attitude, such as that #girlsrule tag when Kate won yesterday’s sailing competition.

Given that its Canadian cousin, @GGDavidJohnston, is known for its formality (and slowness at times), here’s hoping that it adopts at least a few of New Zealand’s techniques during the May visit of Charles and Camilla.

So far this tour the @GovGeneralNZ has been first out the gate with royal pics! Thank you Your Excellency for sharing w/us!! #RoyalVisitNZ

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/the-surprise-twitter-winner-of-the-royalvisitnz/feed/0Why the royal tour started with Prince George’s playdatehttp://www.macleans.ca/society/why-the-royal-tour-started-with-prince-georges-playdate/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/why-the-royal-tour-started-with-prince-georges-playdate/#commentsWed, 09 Apr 2014 14:44:17 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=537407Starting off the tour with a room full of gambolling babies and young parents was a smart strategy

If there was a “royal tour planning office” tucked away in a palace somewhere, it would have the department’s slogan etched in stone above the doorway: Always start a royal visit with a bang. That means the headline event featuring the best photo op, the one story that will have everyone talking. The rest of the tour can be a mishmash of bad weather and boring events, but that will be overshadowed by the first success.

So after the obligatory official greetings, the 2011 Canadian tour started with William and Kate celebrating Canada Day on Parliament Hill with more than 300,000 people. In terms of “hello world, the most famous couple is in Canada” the optics couldn’t have been better.

And that’s why the current royal tour of New Zealand (and later Australia) started with a room full of gambolling babies and young parents. Royal officials are playing to their strength: that the world stops when Prince George enters centre frame. Though everyone was warned that his participation at a playdate for the Royal New Zealand Plunket Society was dependent on his mood (he is about to be nine-months-old, not exactly a seasoned Windsor player), he played his part to perfection, grabbing toys and trying to walk. And every move was captured on a live feed.

Battle in the newsroom over what to watch – royal baby play date vs MH370 announcement.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/why-the-royal-tour-started-with-prince-georges-playdate/feed/0Who’s unhappy that William, Kate and George are touringhttp://www.macleans.ca/society/whos-unhappy-that-william-kate-and-george-are-touring/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/whos-unhappy-that-william-kate-and-george-are-touring/#commentsTue, 08 Apr 2014 13:13:55 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=536779For some New Zealand politicians, the royal visit is 'disdainful'

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with their son Prince George at Kensington Palace, March 2014. (Jason Bell/Camera Press/Redux.)

With the royals tucked away from prying eyes in Wellington, recovering from jet lag, there’s plenty of time to play that oh, so familiar game, “Who doesn’t want them here.”

First up are the opposition politicians. “I find the misuse of this family slightly disdainful,” Winston Peters of the New Zealand First party told the New Zealand Herald. And Labour Leader David Cunliffe believes Prime Minister John Key is “stagemanaging” the calendar for maximum political effect. They think it would have been better if William, Kate and little George hadn’t come during an election year. They are worried about the political advantage Key will obtain as pictures flood the airwaves of the PM with the royals. Left unsaid is that the election isn’t happening next month, or the month after that but well down the calendar on Sept. 20. A nearly six-month-old snap of Key with a Windsor is hardly going to influence any one. Perhaps it’s more the lack of pictures of them with the royals?

Then there are the republicans. They loathe royal tours—all those smiling crowds, little kids with flowers, that positive media coverage. If the Windsors aren’t seen, aren’t heard and aren’t in Australia and New Zealand then it makes their job—getting the monarchies abolished—that much easier. Now the royals are starting a three-week tour, the world’s press has descended and even New Zealand Post, sensing the financial opportunities, has released stamps featuring the happy family. That gives the republicans an advantage—press coverage they would normally never get. Sure enough, the op-ed pieces surface. Here’s one in the Brisbane Times, “It’s time to break the habit,” as if monarchists were addicted smokers or worse. “Many have fallen into a habit of postponing the republic debate until another time and have meanwhile become a cheer squad for celebrity monarchy. It’s time to break that habit…The ‘royal’ habit is an easy trap into which to fall.”

However that hectoring tone reveals a disadvantage for republicans: they often come across as natteringly negative party poopers. It’s hard to know what sets their cause back more, the royals or their disdainful attitude towards monarchists. Perhaps if opposition politicians and republicans coherently argued their positions, rather than just offering a litany of knee-jerk criticisms, their opinions would carry more weight.

Hey, why did Twitter just explode? Oh, George is in a playgroup with other babies. And so goes the circle of life that is a royal visit.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/society/whos-unhappy-that-william-kate-and-george-are-touring/feed/1Prince George: The real star of the royal tourhttp://www.macleans.ca/society/prince-george-the-real-star-of-the-royal-tour/
http://www.macleans.ca/society/prince-george-the-real-star-of-the-royal-tour/#commentsMon, 07 Apr 2014 02:49:32 +0000http://www.macleans.ca/?p=536317Prince William, Kate and their son start a three-week royal tour Down Under

]]>Move over, Prince William and Kate: your son, George, is the star of this royal tour. He can’t talk, can’t walk, but who cares; he can smile and squirm like a nine-month-old. When the family stopped briefly in Australia to transfer to a Royal New Zealand Air Force plane, Twitter was inundated with adorable pictures, including his dad holding a kangaroo backpack, now sold out from the Australian Koala Foundation. The initial coverage couldn’t help but be positive given all they’ve done is arrive in New Zealand, Kate not just holding George (while walking down a wet staircase in shockingly high heels) but also wearing the fern brooch given to the Queen by the women of Auckland during her 1953-4 tour. Still that hasn’t stopped social media from running with “scandals” including the “disgusting” way George’s car seat was installed into the car. The inevitable purple-tinged rhetoric that will flow during the three weeks of this visit to Australia and New Zealand will be enough to drive republicans crazy in their survivalist bunkers. Blowing story lines from innocuous to Defcon 1 will have the rest of us banging on the bunker doors soon enough.

A ceremonial welcome at Government House including a traditional Māori welcome (powhiri) and inspection of the Guard of Honour will launch the Cambridge’s New Zealand tour.

Wellington is New Zealand’s capital city overlooking a spectacular harbour. It has a thriving café scene (a New Zealand flat white is a must-try) and has been lauded as the ‘Capital of Cool’ by Lonely Planet for its celebration of the arts, nightlife and quirky Cuba Street for shopping.

Tuesday, 8 April – Wellington
Tuesday is a free day for the royal couple.

Wednesday, 9 April – Wellington
The Royal family will visit a Plunket parents group at Government House, where Prince George will be given a gift. One in 10 New Zealanders are ‘Plunket babies’.

Thursday, 10 April – Blenheim, MarlboroughTheir Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will lay a wreath at the War Memorial in this small Marlborough town. Marlborough is New Zealand’s largest wine region and continues to win numerous international awards for its sauvignon blanc wine, some of which is proudly held in the Buckingham Palace wine cellar.

Sir Peter Jackson will host the royal couple at the Omaka Aviation Heritage Centre where his personal collection of planes and WWI memorabilia is on display.

Friday, 11 April – Auckland
The Duke and Duchess will compete against each other racing two former America’s Cup boats hosted by Emirates Team New Zealand on Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour. Auckland is known as the City of Sails and there will be plenty of spectator boats bobbing in the harbour to witness the fun on the water.

They will then be driven across the harbour in a Sealegs craft, a great New Zealand innovation as this amphibious boat can drive out of the water and on the road.

Saturday, 12 April – Hamilton and Cambridge, Waikato
The Duke will spend the morning at Pacific Aerospace, a Hamilton-based aircraft manufacturer that got its start creating top dressing planes and has just signed a multi-million dollar deal to manufacture 10-seater P-750 aircraft for China, while the Duchess will visit Rainbow Place at the Children’s Hospital.

Waikato, New Zealand’s main dairy region, lies on the banks of the mighty Waikato River. It is the training ground for many of the country’s Olympic athletes both on and off the water. In the afternoon, the royal couple will officially open the new velodrome – Avantidrome at Cambridge – and meet several of New Zealand’s favourite athletes.

Sunday, 13 April – Dunedin and Queenstown, Otago
After an official welcome by the Ngai Tahu Māori iwi (tribe) in Dunedin, the Duke and Duchess will attend a Rippa Rugby match at Forsyth Barr Stadium, New Zealand’s only covered stadium.

Rippa Rugby is where budding Kiwi kids start their quest to become All Blacks. It is played by mixed seven-a-side teams with simplified rugby rules. Instead of tackling, players rip velcro-fastened tags from each other’s waists.

In the afternoon the Duke and Duchess will be hosted to a wine tasting at Amisfield Winery in Queenstown where several producers will come together to showcase their award-winning wines. And, following a taste of something to calm the nerves, the Duke and Duchess will experience the thrill of a Shotover Jet ride down Queenstown’s Shotover River.

Monday, 14 April – Christchurch, Canterbury
The morning will begin on a sombre note as Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge pay their respects to the 185 people who died in the February 2011 earthquake.

But the afternoon will be a celebration of next year’s ICC Cricket World Cup which will have its opening match in Christchurch. Local cricketing great Sir Richard Hadlee will be there to meet them and Prince George will be given a cricket-themed gift.

Tuesday, 15 April – Wellington
Tuesday is a free day for the royal couple.

Wednesday, 16 April – Wellington
Returning to Wellington, the Duke and Duchess will meet new recruits at the Royal New Zealand Police College in Porirua and pay their respects to officers killed in the line of duty.

The afternoon is free for the couple to walk through Wellington to meet the locals before they depart for the Australian leg of their tour.

]]>I don’t hunt, however I see nothing wrong in hunting, provided it’s legal, safe and doesn’t target animals under threat. I’ve eaten duck and deer meat given to me by friends who do hunt. So I can’t quite understand the fuss surrounding “revelations” that princes Harry and William went on a hunting trip to Spain shortly before they joined their father, Prince Charles, in making a plea to stop the trade in endangered wildlife. “Tonight we are here with a single, shared purpose—to use our collective influence to put a stop to the illegal killing and trafficking of some of our world’s most iconic and endangered species,” William said.

Reports say they were shooting two animals that have become pests—deer and wild boar—throughout large swathes of the West. Everything was legal and above board. Yet most reports don’t make that distinction until around paragraph 15 or 25. Just check out the beginning of the Mirror’s story, which helpfully included a decade-old picture of Harry posing beside a dead water buffalo he killed in Argentina: “Prince Harry’s pledge to protect wildlife has been dealt a blow over this picture of the royal crouching over the body of water buffalo he shot dead on a hunting trip.”

When pictures of King Juan Carlos of Spain posing in front of an elephant he’d killed were made public, the furor was immediate, intense and justified. He was stripped of his honorary position as head of Spain’s World Wildlife Fund. However, there is a big difference between legally hunting animals that aren’t endangered and gunning down those creatures threatened with extinction. But that got lost in the the Harry-William shooting furor. And that’s a pity.

Harold Jellicoe Percival, of Lytham St. Annes in northwest England, never married or had any children, and was by all accounts a private and nomadic man. After he died last month at age 99, the local funeral home, fearing a poor turnout for the Second World War veteran, placed an ad in the Blackpool Gazette asking any military personnel or fellow Royal Air Force vets to attend his service. The notice quickly went viral, though, drawing hundreds of people to the Remembrance Day send-off for a man they never knew. “We marvel at the power of the printed word, whether on paper or screen,” said Rev. Alan Clark, who conducted the service.

A dog and Kony show

Fugitive Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony achieved global notoriety in the “Kony 2012” viral video documenting his crimes, which was tweeted by the likes of Justin Bieber and Oprah Winfrey. Now, Canadian journalist and adventurer Robert Young Pelton says he’s going after the elusive Kony, if he can get the public’s support: Pelton has started a crowd-funding campaign to enable his team to track Kony down. Pelton’s page on Indiegogo, “Expedition Kony,” says he’s been following “the most wanted man in all of Africa” since 1993. There’s a $5-million reward for Kony’s arrest, but this isn’t a bounty hunt, Pelton insists. As of this week, and with 45 days to go, his campaign has raised just more than $8,000; Pelton hopes to make a total of $450,000 to fund the process, which will include a documentary of the hunt for Kony. To members of the public who fund him, he promises: “You can say, ‘I got Kony.’ ”

Too much Tiger for one continent

Perhaps when you haven’t won a major tournament in five years, you take achievements wherever you can get them. Last week, Tiger Woods made a show of hitting golf balls from Europe into Asia. Standing on an elevated tee, Woods hit balls the length of the Bosphorus Bridge that connects the two continents in Istanbul, Turkey. (Half the bridge was closed to allow him to do so.) Woods was there for the Turkish Open, a tournament for which he reportedly received a $3-million appearance fee. “To be the first golfer to do this was very cool,” Woods said of his continent-traversing shots.

Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think?

Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill won album of the year at the 1996 Grammys, and was the highest-selling disc of the ’90s. Now, for whatever reason, it’s going to Broadway. Set to hit the stage in 2014, the musical will include every song on Morissette’s iconic 1995 album, as well as other songs from different periods in her career, and some new material. “I look forward to taking the heart of Jagged Little Pill and expanding its story, fleshing it out into ever-deeper layers of emotionality, specificity, humanity, power, physicality, spirit and fabulism,” the Ottawa-born singer said in a statement. Morissette isn’t the only rocker making the move to Broadway: She’s collaborating with Tony Award winner Tom Kitt, who also worked on Green Day’s own Broadway musical, American Idiot.

Where the best friends roam

The sight of a bison pulling up to a bar might cause most passersby to do a double-take, but residents of Spruce Grove, Alta., know better: That’s just Bailey Jr., Jim and Linda Sautner’s 1,600-lb. pet. Bailey gets around town in Sautner’s convertible, which has been modified so the massive, hairy animal can fit in the passenger seat. Sautner, who previously had another bison named Bailey Sr., adopted this one as a baby after its mother died while giving birth. The bison was “the cutest little thing you’ve ever seen,” he told NPR, and he couldn’t resist taking it home. Now three years old, Bailey Jr. eats hay and oats, and has been known to drink beer. His owners suspect he likes it “because of the barley,” Linda told the Calgary Sun.

Brother, can you spare a crown?

The cost of modern life can make it difficult to make ends meet. Just ask King Albert II of Belgium. When he was the ruling monarch, Albert was entitled to an annual stipend of $16 million (tax-free), but since abdicating the throne to his son, the retired king has had to make do with a comparatively meagre $1.3 million. And he’s now apparently struggling to get by. “He says he has not been treated as he had hoped and that he now finds himself in difficulty,” a source explained to Le Soir. Alas, the Belgian government has ruled out any increase, with Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo saying, “The government is not going to change one comma of the accord thrashed out earlier this year on annual payments to the royal family.”

Screen early, if not on the air

When ABC News correspondent Amy Robach agreed to participate in an on-air mammogram for Good Morning America, it was supposed to be about breast-cancer awareness for the millions of people watching at home. It turned out to be most important for Robach herself. This week, she announced that, after follow-up tests, she has been diagnosed with breast cancer and will undergo a bilateral mastectomy. “And while everyone who gets cancer is clearly unlucky, I got lucky by catching it early, and there are so many people to thank for making sure I did. Every producer, every person who urged me to do this, changed my trajectory,” she said. “The doctors told me bluntly: ‘That mammogram just saved your life.’ ”

The high cost of infidelity

Is a website designed to help married people cheat guilty of cheating its own customers? That’s what Doriana Silva is alleging in her $20-million suit against Ashley Madison, which bills itself as the first stop for online adulterers. The Toronto woman, who was hired to work on the launch of the Portuguese version of the site, says she was tasked with creating 1,000 “fake female profiles” in just three weeks, according to the suit. Silva says she suffered permanent injury to her wrists as a result of all that spicy keyboarding. Ashley Madison, meanwhile, condemned the “frivolous” suit, saying its service is “100 per cent authentic.”

Wrong ‘son of a gun,’ Joe

After Boston legislator Marty Walsh was elected the new mayor of Boston, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden gave him a congratulatory phone call—but dialed the wrong Marty Walsh, mixing him up with a businessman and former aid to Sen. Ted Kennedy. “Marty, you son of a gun, you pulled it off,” Biden exclaimed as soon as Walsh (the wrong one) picked up the phone. After Walsh politely pointed out his mistake, Biden double-checked the phone number. Looking on the bright side, he said, “I’m talking to a Marty Walsh in Boston.” Biden wasn’t alone. The non-mayoral Walsh told ABC, “There are a lot of Marty Walshes in Boston.”

En direct de Montréal, c’est samedi soir!

However regularly it’s lamented as having seen better days, Saturday Night Live persists as a late-night television institution and now, for at least two nights next year, the sketch comedy banner will expand to Quebec. Télé-Québec last week announced the cast for SNL Québec, to be hosted by comedians Louis-José Houde and Stéphane Rousseau and airing live on Feb. 8 and March 22. Quebec’s not-ready-for-prime-time players will include Léane Labrèche-Dor, Virginie Fortin, Katherine Levac, Phil Roy, Mathieu Quesnel and Pier-Luc Funk. International versions of SNL have previously aired in Spain, Japan, Italy and South Korea, though this will be the first extension in North America.

Turning the page on reading

Having failed to save Newsweek and now planning to leave the Daily Beast, editor Tina Brown says she’s not much interested in reading magazines anymore. “The habit has gone,” she told reporters in India this week, where she was speaking to a conference. In fact, she thinks maybe reading’s time has come and gone altogether. “I think you can have more satisfaction from live conversations,” she said, explaining, according to the Hindustan Times, that society is “going back to oral culture where the written word will be less relevant.” Or maybe the famed editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker just didn’t do a great job with Newsweek.

Visiting royalty is the best medicine

While Prince William is skilled at many things—piloting helicopters, playing nice with the press—he is not, contrary to the photo above, a surgeon. Instead, the duke of Cambridge paid a visit to London’s Royal Marsden Hospital as part of his duties as president of the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. According to the hospital, all the patients observed by the prince knew about their royal visitor in advance—even if they weren’t awake to say hello.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/newsmakers-108/feed/0Newsmakershttp://www.macleans.ca/news/newsmakers-113/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/newsmakers-113/#commentsWed, 30 Oct 2013 19:16:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=436182Prince George poses with the family, Chris Hadfield plots his glory days and Perdita Felicien runs her last race

On Oct. 23, tiny Prince George—just three months old, and third in line to the throne—was christened in the Chapel Royal at St. James’s Palace in London. At the small ceremony were senior royals and members of the Middleton family, as well as the young prince’s seven godparents, who include William’s former aide Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton and Julia Samuel, a close friend of Diana, princess of Wales. Afterward, the family gathered for a rare portrait that shows four generations of current and future monarchs together. Prince George, held by his father, Prince William, wore a lace-and-silk christening gown, a replica of the one created in 1841 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s first child, Princess Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa.

Hold your horses

Former Three’s Company star and Thighmaster maven Suzanne Somers has waded into the U.S. health care debate, penning a Wall Street Journal op-ed that’s prompted its own critics. “Medical care will be degraded, the costs will skyrocket and, most frightening of all, your most intimate and personal information is now up for grabs,” writes Somers, who also cites, semi-accurately, a 2008 Maclean’s cover story: “I was startled to see the cover of Maclean’s, a national Canadian magazine, showing a picture of a horse on an examining table with the headline, ‘Your horse can get better health care than you.’ ” While the cover was actually of a dog, it wasn’t her most egregious error, as the Wall Street Journal appended a correction to the piece: “An earlier version of this post contained a quotation attributed to Lenin (‘Socialized medicine is the keystone to the arch of the socialist state’) that has been widely disputed. And it included a quotation attributed to Churchill (‘Control your citizens’ health care and you control your citizens’) that the Journal has been unable to confirm.”

Runway meets the subway

Whether in New York, London, or Toronto, fashion shows can be rarefied events. When São Paulo Fashion Week’s director Paulo Borges kicked off his blockbuster event on Sunday, he decided to take things a bit further, sending models onto the city’s subway system. The unusual show was the first official event of Latin America’s biggest fashion showcase, which is celebrating its 15th year; the in-transit display featured models wearing some of the most provocative designs from previous years. Fashion can live in a museum, the street, or “in the subway,” Borges said. “It can go anywhere.” No word on how harried commuters felt sharing the famously crowded subway cars with models in full regalia.

Seeing red

After four decades of serving Heinz in its restaurants, McDonald’s has announced it will be phasing out the iconic ketchup brand. This comes after Bernardo Hees, the one-time CEO of Burger King—and McDonald’s fierce competitor—took the reins at Heinz, in June. Hees, who was named the company’s CEO after the condiment maker’s sale to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and investment fund 3G Capital, continues to serve on Burger King’s board of directors. With that, two iconic brands look set to part ways. Nothing, it seems, runs thicker than blood—or ketchup.

No reservations about seal meat

Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain turned to Twitter to speak out against a U.S. campaign to boycott Canadian seafood in protest of the seal hunt. “I’m all for protecting seals, but a total ban dooms the indigenous people above the Arctic circle to death or relocation,” tweeted the author behind Kitchen Confidential, directing his message to Danny Bowien, the co-founder of New York’s Mission Chinese Food restaurant. Bowien has been pictured with a seal mascot as part of the Humane Society’s Chefs for Seals campaign, which aims to boycott Canadian seafood and has enlisted more than 6,000 restaurants. “To hold the entire Canadian seafood industry hostage over sustainable, absolutely necessary tribal practice is ill-considered,” Bourdain added. The chef is familiar with Inuit traditions. In 2006, he travelled to northern Quebec for his television show No Reservations, where he hunted seal, then ate the raw meat with an Inuit family.

Excellent follow-through

Canadian tennis stars are suddenly on the rise, at home and abroad. In her first full season on the Women’s Tennis Association Tour, Montreal’s Eugenie Bouchard skyrocketed to 32nd in the world and, in a memorable moment, upset Ana Ivanovic at Wimbledon’s Centre Court. Some predict the 19-year-old could become Canada’s best female tennis player yet—but on her road to fulfilling that prophecy, she’s decided to dump coach Nathalie Tauziat for Nick Saviano, who will be working with her mainly in Florida during the off-season. Meanwhile, Tennis Canada president Michael Downey has been named the new chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association, the governing body of tennis in the U.K. “He gets very involved emotionally, because he wants you to do well,” rising Canadian tennis star Milos Raonic told the Independent newspaper. “He really cares about the players.”

Earthbound retirement

He’s been a test pilot, an astronaut, a social media celebrity and the first Canadian to head the International Space Station—and now Chris Hadfield is a published author. An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, his first book, excerpted in Maclean’s, was released this week. Beyond his authorial duties, Hadfield (who retired from the Canadian Space Agency in June) recently accepted a post at the University of Waterloo, where he’ll be advising aviation programs and teaching. There, he will continue his work with Canadian scientist Richard Hughson, who studies cardiovascular health in space—and has used Hadfield as his most famous guinea pig.

Felicien’s final hurdle

On Oct. 24, before announcing her retirement, Canadian hurdler Perdita Felicien tweeted that it felt like a race day: “major butterflies.” “It has been a cocktail of triumphs, a cocktail of defeats. It’s a mishmash of everything,” she said of her career. She’ll be joining CHCH in Hamilton as a videographer.

]]>UPDATE: Well, it was fun while it lasted. Exactly 24 hours after we posted Jason Bell’s photograph of the post-christening gathering of the Windsor and Middleton families, it was taken down. We had no choice. Under the legal agreement we signed with his agency, Camera Press, we could use the photo for just one day.

You can still view the four officials photos of Prince George, Will and Kate and the Middletons and Windsors on the Clarence House website.

And, here’s a photo of Prince George from the christening that we still can use:

AP Photo/John Stillwell/Pool

And another one:

John Stillwell/Pool/AP

***

He’s three months old, but Prince George was definitely the centre of attention at his christening, held on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at the Chapel Royal, which was followed by the official photo shoot held nearby at Clarence House. Watching his every move was one Queen (Elizabeth), four princes (Philip, Charles, William, Harry), two duchesses (Camilla, Kate), one earl (godparent Hugh Grosvenor), and a passel of relatives and godparents and spouses. Sure, everyone loves looking at a baby, but honestly, the fact that George was wearing the royal family’s impossibly elaborate christening gown surely helped.

The official introduction of HRH Prince George of Cambridge will occur at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 23 at the Chapel Royal of St. James’s Palace. That’s the time set for his christening, when the son of Prince William and Kate, duchess of Cambridge is officially brought into the Church of England through baptism. It’s also one of the few times when the youngest Windsor wears the fanciest duds of the multitudes of assembled royalty. His christening gown is a replica of one made of Honiton lace and Spitalfields white silk satin that was originally created in 1841 for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert’s first child, Princess Victoria Adelaide Mary Louisa. Worn by royal babies for 163 years, the fragile garment was retired from use after Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor, daughter of Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie, was baptized in 2004. Queen Elizabeth II had her dresser, Angela Kelly, make a replica for subsequent christenings. It got its first outing in 2008 at the christening of Edward and Sophie’s son, James.

Along with the gown, Victoria and Albert started another tradition for their daughter’s christening when they ordered a new baptismal font, made of silver gilded with gold and decorated with water lilies and putti with harps. During that ceremony at Buckingham Palace, on Feb. 10, 1841, the little princess didn’t cry when her forehead was wetted by the archbishop of Canterbury. “Albert & I agreed that all had gone off beautifully & in a very dignified manner,” Victoria recorded. The font, which is displayed with the rest of the Crown jewels at the Tower of London when not needed by the house of Windsor, has been used at every subsequent royal christening. And, by tradition, the holy water comes from the Jordan River.

Aside from those constants, the rest of the day’s details are left up to the personal tastes of the parents. While nearly every royal residence has hosted a christening, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace have been the most popular venues. After the London residence’s chapel was destroyed by the German Luftwaffe in 1940, the Queen’s three eldest children were baptized in its ornate music room, as was Prince William. (Edward and Prince Harry were baptized at Windsor.)

But the locales are not always so grand. In April 2011, days before William and Kate’s wedding, an amateur photographer happened to be passing by the Anglican church in Avening, Gloucester, when he recorded the departure of Queen Elizabeth II and family members after the baptism of her first great-grandchild, Savannah, daughter of Peter Phillips and his Canadian wife, Autumn. And the Sandringham estate church in Norfolk was the scene of the first public royal christening in 1990, for Prince Andrew’s daughter, Eugenie. Delayed because Andrew, then a Royal Navy helicopter pilot, was on active service, it took place two days before Christmas. To hide the fact that the back of the tiny outfit couldn’t close around the nine-month-old Eugenie—and to keep her warm in the chilly temperatures—her mother, Sarah, wrapped her baby in a shawl.

The venue chosen by William and Kate is the Chapel Royal. Originally a travelling body of priests and singers to “serve the spiritual needs of the sovereign,” the royal website explains, it was eventually converted into a physical building, eventually placed at St. James’s Palace by Henry VIII in 1531. Though altered over the centuries, and benefitting from a rich musical tradition—George Handel was an organist—it remains a small, intimate space. The coffin of Diana, princess of Wales lay there before her funeral in 1997.

While the christening of Princess Eugenie was public, most Windsor baptisms are strictly private, attended by family, close friends and, of course, the godparents. The Church of England has some specific requirements when it comes to being a sponsor. Given that the responsibility involves “helping a child to come to know God, encouraging them in their spiritual life and supporting them in their membership of the local church,” the church delicately suggests, “Godparents must have been baptized themselves, and it’s best if you are also confirmed.”

If the past is any guide, there will likely be six godparents, three men and three women. And they will be a cross-section of personal friends and relatives. For Prince William, they ranged from the exiled King Constantine II of Greece and Princess Alexandra of Kent to Charles’s favourite philosopher, Laurens van der Post, and the Queen’s friend and lady-in-waiting, Lady Susan Hussey. The officiant will be the new archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, since this baby will one day inherit the regal title of “defender of the faith and supreme governor of Church of England.”

Once the religious part of the christening is over, there will be the obligatory photo-op and a celebratory lunch. But even then tradition plays its part. As is custom, Kate and William saved the top two layers of their wedding cake to serve at the christening of their first child.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/authors/patricia-treble/royal-christening-101-prince-george-version/feed/1William and Kate’s new life starts todayhttp://www.macleans.ca/authors/patricia-treble/william-and-kates-new-life-starts-today/
http://www.macleans.ca/authors/patricia-treble/william-and-kates-new-life-starts-today/#commentsThu, 12 Sep 2013 14:04:44 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=421955Patricia Treble on the news royal watchers were waiting for

His Royal Highness The Duke of Cambridge is to leave operational service in the Armed Forces.

He completes his Tour with the Royal Air Force Search and Rescue Force at RAF Valley, Anglesey, after more than seven-and-a-half years of full-time military service.

He will continue to support the work of The Queen and the Royal Family through a programme of official engagements, both at home and overseas, with The Duchess of Cambridge.

The Duke will work closely over the next twelve months with the Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. He will expand his work in the field of conservation, particularly in respect of endangered species.

The Duke will continue to work with his charities on issues relating to children and young people, veterans and serving members of the Armed Forces. The Duke is currently considering a number of options for public service, a further announcement on which will follow in due course.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince George are expected to move into their official residence at Kensington Palace within the next few weeks.

It came two days after Prince William finished his last RAF shift as a search and rescue pilot in Wales—also a little over seven weeks after his son, Prince George, was born—and marks a major transition in his life. No longer will he be able to retreat to the relative privacy of the military. Instead, like his father before him, who did a stint in the Royal Navy, William will take on more and more duties as a full-time royal. Though some had thought he might work part-time as an officer in the Blues and Royals of the Household Cavalry, that option likely closed once the health of his grandfather, 92-year-old Prince Philip, took a turn to the worse this summer when he had abdominal surgery. The slow recovery of the Queen’s husband created a big hole in the royal schedule. Now William will help fill it up. That will also take pressure off Elizabeth II, 87, and Prince Charles, who turns 65 in November.

As if that wasn’t a big enough upheaval, William and Kate will soon move into their new apartment at Kensington Palace, formerly occupied by the late Princess Margaret. The heritage property has undergone more than $1 million in repairs, largely to remove asbestos, fix the utilities and add a new roof.

And, in a sign that Kate’s maternity leave is slowly ending, she and William will be guests of honour at a gala tonight for Tusk, to recognize conservation workers. It will be Kate’s first official function since George was born in July. After that, the family is expected to go to Balmoral, where the Queen is vacationing.

]]>The two new pictures of infant Prince George are delightfully innocent snaps taken by his grandfather, Michael Middleton. One is a close-up of George and his parents, Prince William and Kate. In the other, the new family is seated on the lawn of the Middleton home with their dog, Lupo.

First official pic of Prince George taken by Kate’s father (Credit: TRH The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge) pic.twitter.com/5IhRGzLT3Z

What isn’t so innocent is the way a surprising number of Class A media organizations jumped right over the embargoed release time of 1 minute after midnight, London time. The embargo, a common tactic used for everything from federal budgets to blockbuster medical studies, is way for media to work ahead on stories. (When the embargo ends, everyone publishes at the same time.) Not this time, as organization after organization received the embargoed pictures and then broke the terms of the agreement by publishing early, with Twitter tallying the bad boys. (USA Today helpfully printed a link to another site, which had the photos)

While those media organizations may have got a few minutes jump on the rest of the world, there’s more than aggrieved competitors to worry about. Royal household officials are a tad like elephants–they don’t forget.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/authors/patricia-treble/new-pix-of-prince-george-leaked-early-of-course/feed/1Prince William’s post as rescue pilot in Wales nears an endhttp://www.macleans.ca/general/prince-williams-post-as-rescue-pilot-in-wales-nears-an-end/
http://www.macleans.ca/general/prince-williams-post-as-rescue-pilot-in-wales-nears-an-end/#commentsWed, 14 Aug 2013 19:20:04 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=413277Stefan Wermuth/Reuters
The Duke of Cambridge is preparing to leave his quiet home in Anglesey, Wales for the noisy life of raising a newborn. Prince William’s three-year post as a…

The Duke of Cambridge is preparing to leave his quiet home in Anglesey, Wales for the noisy life of raising a newborn. Prince William’s three-year post as a Royal Air Force search-and-rescue helicopter pilot will be ending next month and many expect him to return to his wife and baby boy in England.

“I have to say that I thought search and rescue duties over Snowdonia were physically and mentally demanding, but looking after a three-week-old baby is up there!” William told the people of Anglesey on Wednesday.

To the delight of the crowd, William tried out his Welsh dialect for part of the speech, then chatted afterward with residents, including some who he rescued while on the job. The duchess of Cambridge and Prince George were not in attendance for William’s second public appearance since he became a father.

More details on the duke’s future in the military will be announced in the next few weeks. He could be posted somewhere else in Britain. Some British media, however, discussed the possibility of him leaving the RAF together to prepare for the role as King.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/general/prince-williams-post-as-rescue-pilot-in-wales-nears-an-end/feed/0Prince Philip, ‘back in circulation’ after a 56-day absencehttp://www.macleans.ca/authors/patricia-treble/prince-philip-back-in-circulation-after-a-56-day-absence/
http://www.macleans.ca/authors/patricia-treble/prince-philip-back-in-circulation-after-a-56-day-absence/#commentsMon, 12 Aug 2013 20:59:59 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=412720Prince Philip finally made a public appearance on Monday, 56 days after he was released from an 11-day stay in hospital in London. Though the nature of the exploratory surgery…

]]>Prince Philip finally made a public appearance on Monday, 56 days after he was released from an 11-day stay in hospital in London. Though the nature of the exploratory surgery and the results were never disclosed, it was known to be serious enough that the 92-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth II would need an extended time to recover. So he vanished from view, staying at Windsor Castle, then at Sandringham, the monarch’s estate in Norfolk.

Finally, while travelling north to Scotland, he handed out awards at the Royal Society of Edinburgh, in which he’s been an honourary fellow since 1951. And in his typical no-muss, no-fuss fashion, he made light of his illness, telling the audience, “It’s now quite a long list since I’ve been doing this. But it’s a great pleasure to be back in circulation again.”

Looking less cadaverous than his April appearance in Toronto, Philip is scheduled to go to Balmoral Castle to continue his convalescence. He arrives just as Sarah, duchess of York, leaves. It was the first time since 2008 that the Queen had invited the scandal-plagued ex-wife of Prince Andrew to her Scottish retreat. However, since Philip reportedly can’t stand Sarah, she was gone before he drove through the gates.

A more welcome visitor will be the new Prince George of Cambridge, along with his parents, William and Kate. They’re expected to visit soon, so baby can be introduced to the extended royal family, including his great-grandfather, Philip. It’s likely that the Windsors will release a picture of George, along with the Queen, Prince Charles and Prince William, marking the first time since 1894 that there are three generations of heirs to the throne.

When Prince William introduced his son, Prince George, to the world, Johnny Lynn couldn’t help but notice the prince’s belt.

Lynn, the owner of Polistas clothing, didn’t grow up around royalty, but his clothing company — which manufactures the traditional Argentine-style polo belt Prince William frequently wears — has become a brand beloved by the royals.

Lynn was raised far from London, in Midland, Ont., where the biggest celebrity he knew was his dad, who was also the mayor. While Diana, princess of Wales, was busy taking care of baby William, Lynn was playing tight end for the Midland Secondary School football team.

A boy living along the Georgian Bay could hardly have predicted becoming the polo connoisseur he is today—let alone one who rubs elbows with royalty. As a teen, Lynn dreamed of representing Canada at the 1988 Calgary Olympics in skiing, until a bad crash on the slopes of Osler Bluff in Collingwood, Ont. in 1982 resulted in a broken fibula and amnesia. With his Olympic dreams dashed, he focused on school. Lynn studied Administrative and Commercial Studies at Western University in London, Ont. and had never even been to London, England.

Prince William and his belt in P.E.I. in 2011. (Rex Features)

Lynn moved to the U.K. in 1989 to look for business opportunities. In what would be a fortuitous decision, he went with friends to see Prince Charles play polo.

Lynn was immediately hooked. “I just thought this game looked awesome because I’m a big football fan and a big ski racer, and polo really puts the two together,” he says from outside his polo club in Oxfordshire, England. “It’s a very physical contact sport, but it’s got the speed and balance of ski racing.”

It took a few years of working in investment banking until Lynn could afford to pick up the sport, but he was a fast learner and soon became a professional. He travelled often to Argentina, the modern home of polo. After a vacation there in 2001, he decided to start a polo events company, Polo Relations. That eventually spawned into his polo apparel brand, Polistas.

As millions watched Kate and William step outside St. Mary’s Hospital in London on July 23 with their newborn son, there was much commentary about their matching blue-for-boy wardrobe. Few mentioned the Polistas belt with its Canadian connection, which appears to be the same one William was photographed wearing during his Canadian tour with Kate, duchess of Cambridge, two years prior.

Scott Irvine, founder of the Canadian leather accessory brand Brave, which specializes in belts, says he noticed the belt when William was sporting it at the Calgary Stampede parade in 2011.

“That pattern is done often with horsehair. It’s a typical South American or Navaho style,” Irvine says.

“Obviously the guy has a connection to it because he’s wearing it for big events.”

A close up of William's belt, as worn at the Calgary Stampede parade in July 2011.

Prince William’s much-worn belt is indeed made in Argentina, in the Pampas to be exact, but it is from an older Polistas collection. As for why someone second-in-line to the British throne, a man worth hundreds of millions, doesn’t buy something newer, Lynn says the royals are quite frugal. Prince William wore the exact same belt while dragon boat racing in Prince Edward Island in 2011 and again the next year in England, while promoting the 2012 Olympics. Lynn also points to one of William’s Polistas fleece jackets, which he wore at events eight years apart.

“They’re not like the nouveau riche who change their shoes once a month,” Lynn says. “They like something and they wear it forever.”

Lynn, 48, has grown more accustomed to talking about to the monarchy over the years. His grandmother, a World War I bride, was born in England and was a big royalist, but even she couldn’t have predicted her grandson hanging out among them one day—let alone having an occasional drink with Prince Harry.

Prince William and Johnny Lynn

“Just to be socializing with that crowd now, I sometimes have to pinch myself,” Lynn says.

He’s often seen among elite these days, but Lynn remembers his Canadian roots. He grew up a die-hard Ottawa Rough Riders fan and talks with enthusiasm about the Ottawa RedBlacks—the CFL team set to return to the nation’s capital next year. He brags about meeting Rough Rider legend Tony Gabriel at the Grey Cup last year in Toronto, and winning MVP honours with his Milton Keynes Pathfinders seniors team in the British American Football League.

His life outside football, however, involves more exotic destinations. Through polo, he has travelled the world to compete with the royal family in Jordan, the prince of Malaysia and the Maharaja of Jaipur of India.

“They call polo the game of kings and that’s why,” he says with a laugh. “It’s more fun than living in Ontario.”

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/meet-the-man-behind-prince-williams-belt/feed/1Advice to Will and Kate: Do cover all electrical outlets and moatshttp://www.macleans.ca/authors/scott-feschuk/do-cover-all-electrical-outlets-and-moats/
http://www.macleans.ca/authors/scott-feschuk/do-cover-all-electrical-outlets-and-moats/#commentsFri, 26 Jul 2013 13:17:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=407947Scott Feschuk's tips on raising the royal heir

The first few years of development are a crucial time for any future monarch. Here are some milestones to watch for:

0 to 6 months

The initial days at home with your royal baby can be a blur of commanding people to feed and change him. But then one afternoon, you find yourself wandering through the southwest wing of the palace and, boom, there’s the nursery. It’d be rude not to drop in, right?

You’ll likely find your royal baby making progress. With substantial effort, he may even be able to lift his head briefly while lying on his stomach, just like Prince Harry on Sunday mornings.

For many newborns, it’s common for crying jags to peak about six weeks after birth, then become less frequent. Whether your royal baby needs a diaper change, a feeding session or simply desires the warm, reassuring sensation of human contact, this rope rings a bell that summons a footman.

By the way, it is certainly allowable in times of stress to help soothe your royal baby by allowing the occasional thumb-sucking. It traditionally falls to the mother to decide which servant’s thumb to use.

Note: If your royal baby doesn’t routinely smile by six months, it could be a red flag that he’s developmentally challenged and/or related to Prince Philip.

7 to 12 months

Your royal baby continues to amaze! He can now sit without assistance, although thankfully, we live in a backward world of inherited privilege where he doesn’t have to.

This is also the time at which your royal baby will begin to get, and subsequently ignore for the rest of his life, his teeth.

With your future monarch gaining mobility, the time has come to focus on child-proofing your castle. Remember to securely cover all electrical outlets and moats.

By now, your royal baby should be able to successfully differentiate among four different colours, six different shapes and up to eight different nannies.

But that’s not all. As your future monarch continues to grow and mature, he will develop and display dozens of facial expressions, which, in keeping with centuries of royal tradition, must be reduced to three: boredom, indifference and pretend-smiling.

By 12 months, your royal baby may take his first steps without support. Be sure to praise him with the kind of flamboyant emotional gesture favoured by royals through the ages—either a disinterested grunt from a distant, comfortable chair or a notarized scroll of fond sentiment.

13 to 18 months

What an exciting time—your royal baby is gaining confidence! He can now follow two-step directions like, “Pick up your teddy bear and bring him to me,” or “This is Uncle Harry and no, you may not go to Vegas with him.”

During these important months, your royal baby will develop a host of new abilities: He’ll learn to walk, to wave and even to hold brief, babbling “conversations.” Don’t worry if he doesn’t master these skills right away—it’s pretty much all he’ll be doing for the rest of his life, so he’ll eventually get the hang of it.

19 to 24 months

At this age, your royal baby wants to do everything on his own. He wants to dress himself, clean himself and feed himself. Essentially, he is displaying all the hallmarks of a strong independent streak. Relax, it’s just a phase. Within just a few months, he’ll have learned to passively allow others to remove his shirt, tie his shoes and pour his G and T.

Tip: Now is a crucial time to praise your royal baby for good choices while steering him away from things you view as less desirable, such as Germans and hugs.

25 to 36 months

This is an important developmental juncture. Your royal baby will learn to accept, in a gracious but detached manner, the fawning accolades of complete strangers without dwelling on the inherent lunacy of full-grown adults objectifying the representative of an antediluvian system of almost comic largesse that confers by birth the lifelong right to play dress-up at absurd public expense.

37 to 48 months

The future monarch will likely still be struggling to say his name. The tricky part is the hard ‘R’ in “Hi, I’m His Royal Highness the prince of Cambridge.” Have no fear—they’ll help him sort it out next year at boarding school.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/authors/scott-feschuk/do-cover-all-electrical-outlets-and-moats/feed/5Editorial: Long to reign over ushttp://www.macleans.ca/politics/long-to-reign-over-us/
http://www.macleans.ca/politics/long-to-reign-over-us/#commentsThu, 25 Jul 2013 14:41:00 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=407870The birth of Prince George means stability and security in the Commonwealth

Three kings makes a very good poker hand. It’s equally good news if you happen to be a royal family, or one of their many subjects.

This week, Canada, along with Britain and the rest of the Commonwealth, celebrates the happy news that Catherine, duchess of Cambridge, gave birth to a healthy baby boy. While birth announcements are always cause for excitement and festivity, the arrival of a new prince represents more than just the start of a new life. It also signifies the continuance of centuries of vital tradition.

The new baby boy is third in line to the throne of Great Britain, Canada and 14 other realms. After his great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, the young prince will likely follow his grandfather Charles and father William in wearing the crown. The succession line for the house of Windsor is well-established into the remainder of this century.

Of course, it would have been equally good news, had the new prince been a princess. The antiquated rule of male primogeniture was recently removed from Britain’s laws of royal succession, allowing a first-born daughter to become monarch, even if she has younger brothers. Earlier this year, Canada altered its own laws to reflect this new equality of opportunity. (In furtherance of separatist obstructionism, two Quebec law professors, with apparent support from the PQ government, have challenged the constitutionality of the move.)

Regardless of whether a king or queen sits on the throne, however, the great advantage of the modern British monarchy has been its stability and security.

For the past 61 years, the indomitable Queen Elizabeth II has provided a rock-solid foundation to Canada’s parliamentary democracy. Her selfless devotion to the ceremony of her office has been awe-inspiring—including 23 visits to Canada and hundreds of annual events at home. Equally impressive has been her attention to the significance of her office. She has always treated her sovereignty with the dignity and seriousness it deserved.

While it often seems as if our Queen will reign forever—in 2015, she’ll surpass Queen Victoria to become the longest-serving monarch in British history—this is obviously wishful thinking. As is appropriate, she has already taken important steps to ensure her throne remains relevant long after she’s gone. Changes to the succession law, made at her behest, are one such example.

William and Kate, the duke and duchess of Cambridge, represent another equally important effort to modernize the British throne. In our celebrity-fixated world, the photogenic young couple provides a refreshing air of honesty and practicality. On their honeymoon trip to Canada in 2011, they captivated our nation with their easy manner and sense of fun. And despite the massive media attention lavished on her pregnancy, Catherine always maintained her poise.

Of course, the concept of a hereditary monarchy inevitably produces a few cranky complainers. Aside from the separatist law professors trying to derail new succession rules, recently, a trio of would-be Canadians claimed in Ontario court that the federal citizenship oath violates their constitutional rights. Anyone wishing to become a Canadian citizen must swear or affirm, “I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, her heirs and successors.” Why should this be considered intolerable?

Swearing faithfulness to the Queen (and the next three kings) merely recognizes Canada’s particular form of democracy. Keep in mind that all political power in this country ultimately resides in the Crown, as represented in Canada by the governor general. The throne, and whoever occupies it, is therefore a symbol of the very permanence of Canada itself.

And remember that a monarch owes a deep and continuing duty of allegiance and responsibility to all his or her subjects in a way that elected prime ministers or presidents, dependent as they are on vagaries of political favour and competing interests, do not. This is the ultimate reason for the great success of Canada’s constitutional monarchy: It provides stability in the face of constant change. The oath, and our loyalty to the crown, must stay.

Then again, concerns about royal relevance and duty are a long way off for the newest prince. For now, he ought to concern himself with learning about the pleasures of his parents’ company, as well as feeding, burping, sleeping and all the other necessities of young life. The responsibility of centuries of tradition will come soon enough. God save the Queen, and all the kings to come!

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/politics/long-to-reign-over-us/feed/7Royal baby: what happens in the next few monthshttp://www.macleans.ca/authors/patricia-treble/royal-baby-what-happens-in-the-next-few-months/
http://www.macleans.ca/authors/patricia-treble/royal-baby-what-happens-in-the-next-few-months/#commentsWed, 24 Jul 2013 15:34:19 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=407824With so many palaces to choose from, how will Will and Kate decide?

On Tuesday, William and Kate appeared with their bundle of joy on the steps of St. Mary’s Hospital in London for the obligatory photo op. But from the moment they drove away, their son securely fastened in his car seat, the couple will try to keep the future monarch out of the public eye, at least during the early months.

After the hospital: The first night was spent at their cozy two-bedroom Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace. There, they welcomed Kate’s sister, Pippa, and brother, James, as well as Prince Harry, who rushed back from his military base. And the next day Queen Elizabeth II, the boy’s great-grandmother, came over from nearby Buckingham Palace to see the baby.

Next few weeks: After the visits, William and Kate took their son to her parents’ place in Bucklebury in the Berkshire countryside. It’s relatively secluded and most importantly, has a pool to help deal with the heat wave that’s gripped Britain lately. Given the cost of securing the estate has to be born by the local police—and it’s sure to soar as foreign paparazzi try to get a money-making shot of the new family—it’s unlikely Kate and her son will spend the entire summer there, so as to not strain the already-tight police budget. The family could also spend some time at Charles’s estate of Highgrove. And Kate may pop back into the city to visit friends and shop.

After William’s two-week paternity leave ends, he’ll return to his RAF search-and-rescue base on the Welsh island of Anglesey, where the couple has lived for the last five years. Kate will probably split her time between Bucklebury and living with him at their secluded house, nestled on the estate of Sir George and Lady Meyrick. When he’s pulling a 24-hour shift, Kate can rely on her mother and sister, who will be more than happy to come to Wales to help her out.

Mid-August: At the invitation of great-grandmother Queen Elizabeth II, the family will likely decamp to Balmoral in Scotland for a few days. The remote and private 19,000-hectare estate is a beloved family retreat from prying eyes. William and Kate spent a lot of time at the three-bedroom Tam-na-Gha cottage during their courtship at the University of St. Andrews.

Summer: The palace will placate the public and attempt to fend off the worst tabloid intrusions by releasing an official family photo, and perhaps one showing four generations of monarchs, current and future: the Queen, Charles, William and his son.

Autumn: With William’s stint in the RAF complete in September, they’ll move to Apartment 1A at Kensington Palace, once $1.6 million worth of interior renovations, roof repair and asbestos removal have been completed. Far more comfortable than the tiny Nottingham Cottage, the 20-room, four-storey house comes with its own walled garden.

October: Royal christenings usually occur a few months after the birth, so it will likely take place after the Queen returns from Balmoral. It will be a grand, but private, affair in the music room of Buckingham Palace. While the baptism won’t be filmed, there will be a photo op with the baby’s extended family and godparents.

December: The Windsors travel to the Queen’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, where William and Kate will check on renovations to Anmer Hall, the Georgian house given to them by the Queen.

Christmas: As has become their custom, the holiday season will be split between the Middleton and Windsor families. Royal watchers can hope for a glimpse of the new babe in the Queen’s annual televised Christmas message, which always contains lots of video.

New Year’s Eve: Carole Middleton gets to show off her grandchild to neighbours and friends at home in Berkshire.

I hope you don’t mind me calling you that. “Your Royal Highness” seems so stuffy and motherhood is such a levelling experience, you know? I feel it’s better if we just communicate like the West London neighbours we are—new mum to new mum.

Poor darling, you must be exhausted! Nothing quite like giving birth in a heat wave with the world media trained on the hospital door. The pressure must have been intense. I found it intense and the only people watching me give birth were a bored NHS midwife and my boyfriend.

Having said that, we have a lot in common. We live in the same neighbourhood, for one thing. And we both have long hair. And now we’re both mummies! Isn’t that amazing? And while I was rather disappointed at your declining my invitation to join our local Kensington and Chelsea chapter of the National Childbirth Trust group, or to sign up for Mommy and Me yoga at Life Centre in Notting Hill, your private secretary was super-sweet about it. I have his cards up on the fridge, right beside my son’s feeding schedule and the receipt for the completely useless “baby-proofing kit” from John Lewis, which my boyfriend is supposed to return this week if he manages to come home from work on time for once?.?.?.?sorry, where was I?

Oh, right. I was telling you about the magic of motherhood.

First off, I think it’s really cool that you are choosing not to have a nanny. I felt exactly the same way when I was pregnant. It was like, “Why would I want a stranger in my space while I’m just going to spend the next six months lying in bed, communing with my baby in a serene breast-milk-scented haze?” Which I did for about six sleepless weeks until I started to notice I’d run out of clean stretch pants. And then day sort of slid into night until one evening, my boyfriend came home from work and found the baby crying and me crying and he said, “Maybe we should call that nice lady down the street?” I said, PLEASE GOD YES.

But I’m sure you’ll be much stronger and more resilient than I was. You’re British, after all. And royal. You’ll have your mother and Pippa for support. And a cook and a butler and a chambermaid and a chauffeur and a plane and a helicopter and a team of ladies in waiting and several fully staffed palaces, all of which might come in just a teeny bit handy with your down-to-earth choice to forgo child care. You go, girl.

Now let’s talk about our boobs. I know it’s a touchy subject, what with those embarrassing European tabloid photos last year. The French are so rude. I don’t care if they invented Sophie the giraffe and Camembert—that paparazzo really crossed the line. But mum to mum? You should probably be happy everyone got to see the girls before the little prince of Cambridge gets his hands on them.

Don’t be shy—this is what mummy friends are for! We go to the Giraffe Café (there’s one on Holland Park Road right behind Kensington Palace; I can meet you there for coffee any Tuesday or Thursday morning right after Gymboree) and we trade hilarious stories about how silly our menfolk are—like the time when the boyfriend made a move for old time’s sake and we pushed him away and shouted, “Get your filthy unsterilized paws off our child’s food source!” Just tell the story of how Wills put the onesie on upside down or the nappy that exploded in Princess Michael of Kent’s lap and you’ll have all the girls in stitches.

Once the infant stage passes, the conversations get more interesting. That’s when we start comparing our babies by saying things like, “Oh, come now, Henry, stop making anagrams with your megablocks. Mummy’s little brain is too tired to figure them out right now.” Or, “For heaven’s sake, Mathilde, put away the violin. I told you, no more Paganini until you eat every last bit of that purple sprouting broccoli!” And then we roll our eyes and pour another glass of Tesco three-for-one pinot grigio and bitch about how much the bloody kitchen extension is going to cost.

Isn’t being a mum in London amazing?

You must be so relieved you had a boy. No body-image tantrums or pregnancy scares or controversial changes to ancient succession laws to deal with. Plus recent studies show that British boys do much worse in school than girls, so if he ends up a bit thick, you won’t have to feel too embarrassed. The question, I suppose, is whether he’ll pass the entrance exams to Eton with all the clever, super-rich kids from the BRIC countries competing to get in.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, shall we? Since you’ve given birth to the heir to the throne, it means you’re probably in a solid position to get into any private nursery school you want. But if I were you, I wouldn’t take any chances. I heard the Montessori in South Kensington turned down Madonna and Guy Ritchie’s kid, so you should probably get Wills to courier the applications straight from the hospital like everyone else. Once you’re settled in, I’d love to come round with this little gift I bought for His Royal Gurgles. It’s nothing, really, just a cashmere bath-and-bed set and a sterling rattle from Harvey Nicks. Or, if you’re keen to get your figure back right away, we could do a baby boot camp in the park. I’m dying to hear the birth story. You’ve got my number, darling. Call me!

]]>I hesitate to get anywhere near a debate that Colby occupies for fear that, in the event of disagreement, he would destroy me, but perhaps I might expand on yesterday’s half-hearted and passive-aggressive sigh about the Irish president.

In practice, the system has basically worked. This is probably fairly undeniable. We have a ceremonial head of state and a typically inoffensive governor general, the latter being there on the exceedingly rare occasion that things get complicated and someone has to decide who is going to be prime minister. The country has fared fairly well over the last 146 years and people seem to like the Queen we have now and Prince Charles is basically fine and Prince William seems like a decent person and to change the system would surely invite a number of potential complications and problems that do not presently exist. (I’m not sure I entirely accept the premise that constitutional monarchies necessarily cause stable and healthy democracies, but it at least helps that we have good company in the monarchy club.) Our affinity for the monarchy might rise or ebb depending on the moment, but short of a total barbarian becoming our head of state and proceeding to deeply offend our country—like if Piers Morgan becomes king—it is unlikely that there’ll be any great rush to cut our ties. And absent some kind of crisis involving the governor general and the formation of a government, we might be able to carry on fine without substantive change to the system. (Although how to apply the lessons of the “crisis” of 2008 might be a matter of debate, Michaelle Jean either proving that the system works or demonstrating that we need to do something different. It’s possible to say we should keep the monarchy, but change the way governors general are appointed.)

That said, it’s still all a bit silly. And if we basically believe in the principles of democracy and equality, we should probably have our own elected head of state—even if only to fulfill the largely ceremonial functions of the governor general—and accept all of the complications of politics and democracy that come with that.

It’s not unlike the debate over the future of the Senate. It can be argued that the Senate we have basically works and that to move to an elected Senate would be to introduce new and unnecessary problems to our formal system of governance. But intellectually it’s problematic that we allow the prime minister to appoint whoever he wants to sit in public office at our expense and exercise power over the work of our democratically elected House of Commons—an existential crisis that becomes harder to bear whenever a senator comes to our attention for having done something like claim a housing allowance they shouldn’t have. By the same token, it can be argued that constitutional monarchy basically works and that to change things would be to introduce the unnecessary potential for new problems. But intellectually it’s problematic that we insist on hanging on to a Queen as if we should have any affinity for such a manifestation of privilege, royalty and the luck of birth—an existential crisis that is easier to bear when the fairy tale figures involved are charming, good-looking and relatively harmless.

In the case of the Senate, of course, we needn’t choose between the intellectually troublesome and practically problematic—we could abolish the chamber entirely. In the case of the monarchy, we’d have to choose to replace it with something. And since it is relatively benign—as opposed to the Senate, which has an active role in our system of governance—it’s easier to leave the monarchy be. They give us something to watch on TV and they periodically deliver cute babies and it’s tradition and there’s relative stability and all that.

But, if we are to still have a king or queen as head of state, we should at least have the self respect to stop pledging allegiance to them. That’s just ridiculous.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/by-god-the-constitutional-monarchy-is-probably-safe/feed/24Royal baby dispatches: Birth brings out the republicanshttp://www.macleans.ca/news/world/royal-baby-dispatches-birth-brings-out-the-republicans/
http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/royal-baby-dispatches-birth-brings-out-the-republicans/#commentsTue, 23 Jul 2013 16:30:53 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=407470It's not all love for the royals, Katie Engelhart reports from London

Hours after the royal baby took in his first lungful of air, the scene in London closed with some poetry: the sun set and, to cackling thunder, the skies opened up and unleashed an apocalyptic downpour.

To assume the crowds would have thinned overnight would be to gravely err. This morning, the road was thick with journalists, curious passersby and frothing-at-the-mouth tourists—more, even, than yesterday. But something has changed: the baby has arrived. The “Great Kate Wait” is over.

Unexpectedly, a good number of British broadsheets were unabashed in their enthusiasm: their front pages a gluttonous tribute to all things majestic and Britannia. The conservative Daily Telegraph celebrated with ‘It’s a boy’ on the cover, and a long string of articles, including one about a woman who gave birth in the same hospital wing as Kate Middleton did—11 years ago. But The Daily Mail took the celebration cake with a whopping 20 pages of breathy coverage in its Royal Baby Souvenir Special, which showcased a jolly “grandpa” Prince Charles. (Interesting tidbit from those pages: “At 8lbs 6oz [Royal Baby is] the heaviest future king in 100 years.”)

Elsewhere, however, headlines were more subdued, a nod to a republican sentiment than holds steady. The Independent—notorious for eschewing royal coverage—opted not to put #RoyalBaby on the cover. Instead, the front-page story was about Prime Minister David Cameron’s “war on internet porn.” That will probably appeal to the 17 per cent of Brits who want a Republic as opposed to the 77 per cent who actively wish to retain the Monarchy.

For some, the occasion of the royal birth—and the imperial deference it has inspired—is cause for republican grief. Republic, a leading anti-monarchy league, used the Royal Baby hype to promote its new #bornEqual campaign. “This is an opportunity,” its campaign manager Graham Smith argued, “to consider whether this circus is the best way to run things.”

Yesterday, the Guardian tempted online readers with a “Republican” button which, when clicked, stripped the homepage of all reference to the royal babe. The Guardian for its part, was tempered in tone; Royal Baby made the cover, but with a modest four pages of coverage. For the most part, the Guardian has maintained its more-virtuous-than-thou sheen by going meta. Its lead story discussed how content-starved journalists were celebrating the birth of some real, concrete news.

Indeed meta-reporting is the theme du jour. Coverage of the coverage of the royal baby coverage is commonplace. Journalists are endlessly interviewing journalists. This morning, a Canadian reporter was interviewed by a Guardian correspondent who cheekily asked what it was like stake out the hospital for weeks on end.

Today, we await the emergence of the duchess herself, though Buckingham Palace has warned that Kate will not appear before 6 p.m. London time, if she appears at all.

We also await the name. Today’s odds are on George. Already, we have craned our necks for the arrival and departure, by taxi, of the beaming Middletons.

When Kate does head home, the streets will finally clear and we can move on to more pressing issues, like when Kate will lose her baby weight.

]]>http://www.macleans.ca/news/world/royal-baby-dispatches-birth-brings-out-the-republicans/feed/3God save the constitutional Monarchyhttp://www.macleans.ca/authors/colby-cosh/god-save-the-constitutional-monarchy/
http://www.macleans.ca/authors/colby-cosh/god-save-the-constitutional-monarchy/#commentsTue, 23 Jul 2013 12:20:36 +0000http://www2.macleans.ca/?p=407302Colby Cosh on why he will take his chances with the Royal Baby as head of state

Of course, of course, you’re obviously quite right: all the hubbub around the Royal Baby is silly. We all go harmlessly mad over a natural event that happens a million times every three days on this planet, and single out one ordinary infant for the imagined unfolding of a bizarre destiny that may in a zillion different ways go awry. And for what? What the hell do we Canadians gain by it?

The question is asked a lot, usually by people whose ancestors could just as easily have been Americans if they had wanted to be. Cranky republicans in the United Kingdom, one supposes, have the right to complain that they might have arranged things otherwise. They are stuck with the constitutional arrangements that prevail in their indigenous home, assuming that is where they wish to remain. But Canada was largely peopled by those who consciously preferred to live under British monarchical institutions, including the silly ones. Even the Québécois, who have poured generations of footloose francophones across the southern border, and the First Nations, who have (alas, increasingly theoretical) legal rights to ignore that border, have been sorted by time in this way.

So: if you don’t like the show, why are you still here? Too lazy to fix your ancestors’ collective mistake, eh? It’s a big world and there are plenty of republics, far more of them than monarchies. I hear parts of Laos are lovely.

I kid. But if you came from the dark side of the moon tomorrow and had no a priori reason to prefer either the “choose a head of state by some ostensibly rational method” system or the “get all het up over a basically random baby” system, surely you would find it at least a little odd that the second system produces such nice places to live, from New Zealand all the way around to the Netherlands. What is it about those damned babies exactly?

Well, you have probably noticed that dynastic thinking isn’t limited to monarchies: you can ask the Kims of North Korea or the Kennedys of Hyannis Port. The secret of constitutional monarchies is not that they indulge the dynastic impulse, but that they have found a means of circumscribing it without losing the advantages. Chief amongst these, I think, is a sense of historical continuity: we still so clearly remember the new prince’s gin- and horse-loving great-great-grandmother, born in the reign of Victoria, and now comes R.B. himself, unlikely to warm the chair of St. Edward until even the youngest of you reading this are pensioners (if you’re lucky, and if “pensions” are still a thing). It provides a natural, almost enforced occasion for a species of “long now” panoramic, intergenerational thinking that various nerds and hucksters like to profit from.

It’s true that a domestic Canadian dynasty would do that job about as well, and this is the source for much of the odium in which our system is held by republicans. Dammit, Royal Baby isn’t even Canadian Royal Baby! Barring the overthrow of our Constitution, we are never likely to have a “Canadian” head of state who has grown up entirely amongst us. When you are finished having a cry about that, I would suggest reflecting upon the possible benefits: an indigenous Canadian head of state would have to be some particular person, wedded to one of our regions and official languages and political tribes and social classes and, indeed, component nations. Surely there is some merit in having ultimate last-resort legitimacy—an important plus of monarchy, as the Second World War taught—vested in an outsider. Maybe every country should have a king or queen from somewhere else, someone extremely intimate with its constitutional traditions and language but otherwise neutral; rooted, for safety, in other soil.

Or maybe that is the dumbest idea you’ve ever heard. But republicans do need to take the “particularity” factor into account in weighing their long-term chances. Until the debate over the fundamental Constitution gets serious, the choice is “imaginary elected president from my personal fantasies, perhaps a genetic cross between Barack Obama and Justin Timberlake” versus “actual living family that has had various difficulties and embarrassments.” This is inherently good ground for anti-monarchists to fight on, but only when there is no actual fight.

If we had an Australian-style referendum on the monarchy, the republicans would not only have to present an actual alternative system for criticism — which is what befouled the hopes of Australian republicans — undecideds would also be obliged to start imagining a world in which the personal fountainhead of political legitimacy might end up being Don Cherry or Rob Ford or George Stroumboulopoulos. I personally will take my chances with little R.B. God save the Queen.